Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking Trump administration officials will lead a task force aimed at tackling fraud in California and other states, according to a new report.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order in the coming days to name Vance chair of the task force, which aims to root out welfare abuses following high-profile scandals in cities like Minneapolis, sources told CBS News.
“We know that the fraud isn’t just happening in the Minneapolis,” Vance said during a recent briefing. “It’s happening in states like Ohio. It’s happening in states like California.”
Andrew Ferguson, current chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, will join Vance in overseeing the sweeping interagency effort to audit federal funds flowing into California’s social service and childcare programs.
As part of the effort, Associate Deputy Attorney General Colin McDonald will occupy the newly created role of fraud investigator. While he will technically report to Attorney General Pam Bondi, sources told CBS News he will be working hand-in-hand with Vance and Ferguson.
The move reportedly stems from the administration’s frustration with staff in existing fraud units at the Department of Justice staff who may disagree with the Trump administration’s “priorities and tactics,” the outlet reported.
Officials familiar with the planning say the task force will operate partly outside existing Department of Justice fraud enforcement units.
While the task force will have a nationwide scope, the spotlight will be on California after auditors have flagged billions of fraud in pandemic relief payments, unemployment insurance claims and other benefits.