President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday creating a national task force aimed at fighting fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.
The new Task Force to Eliminate Fraud will be led by Vice President JD Vance. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson will serve as vice chairman.
Trump signed the order in the Oval Office with Vance and Ferguson at his side.
According to a White House fact sheet, the task force will help develop a national strategy to crack down on fraud in programs tied to cash assistance, food aid, housing, and medical care. The administration said the effort will focus on improving eligibility verification, adding stronger pre-payment controls, spotting high-risk fraud trends, and breaking up fraud networks.
The order also calls for minimum anti-fraud standards across agencies. Those standards are expected to include proof of identity, documentation requirements, stronger risk controls, and audits.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the administration wants a government-wide response to what he described as large-scale fraud in federally funded programs.
“This is going to launch a whole-of-government approach to rooting out the very serious problem of fraud in federally-funded programs around the country,” Scharf said.
Vance said the goal is to stop taxpayer money from going to criminals and make sure benefits reach eligible Americans.
“What this executive order does is force the entire apparatus of the federal government to do two things: stop the fraud of the American taxpayer, and make sure that the benefits that ought, by right, go to American citizens, go to American citizens, and not to fraudsters,” Vance said.
The White House pointed to alleged fraud cases in Minnesota as an example of the problem. It said Medicaid fraud in the state could total billions of dollars. The administration also cited the Feeding Our Future case, which involved about $250 million meant for needy children, along with other alleged abuses tied to federal childcare funding.
The fact sheet also said the administration believes similar weaknesses may exist in states including California, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Colorado.
The White House blamed the Biden administration for weakening federal oversight by easing verification safeguards and expanding access without enough controls. Trump officials said the new task force is part of a broader push to protect benefits for eligible Americans and keep taxpayer money from being lost to fraud.
The task force will provide regular updates to the president as the administration moves forward with the anti-fraud effort.