A new White House anti-fraud task force, aimed at investigating welfare abuses in California and other states, is in the final stages of planning, led by the vice president and the head of an independent consumer protection agency, according to multiple sources briefed on the plans.
President Trump intends to sign an executive order in coming days naming Vice President JD Vance as chairman of the task force, a move that’s meant to signal the importance of the effort to the president, News.Az reports, cting CBS news.
***
Andrew Ferguson, a federal official whose job is to prevent consumers from being exploited, will be vice chairman. Ferguson will manage both the Federal Trade Commission, where he is currently chairman, and the daily activities of the new task force, two of the sources said.
The plan calls for Colin McDonald, who has been nominated by Mr. Trump for a newly created fraud investigator role at the Justice Department, to fall within the DOJ’s management structure – reporting to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche – but to work closely with Vance and Ferguson.
Such an arrangement will likely trigger concerns from Democrats and watchdogs about whether the White House could try to exert political pressure on McDonald to investigate Mr. Trump’s enemies.
The new anti-fraud efforts could sidestep existing fraud units at the Justice Department. That’s partly because of frustration with resistance from career staff who disagree with some of Mr. Trump’s priorities and tactics, which some officials think Bondi and Blanche have struggled to deal with, one of the sources said.
Other officials said the DOJ’s national fraud enforcement division, which Vance announced last month, and the task force came about because of keen interest in clamping down on fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.
California auditors have discovered billions in fraud in unemployment claims, pandemic assistance, and health care. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely presidential candidate in 2028, has defended efforts to clean up and block fraud.
In Minnesota, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz dropped his reelection bid amid scrutiny of massive fraud in state child care and other welfare programs.
The timeline for Mr. Trump’s signature creating the task force could shift to later this month, sources said.
White House spokespeople declined to comment.
Vance currently serves as the vice chair of the White House’s task forces for the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 and 2028 Summer Olympics, and well as finance chair for the Republican National Committee — a key fundraising position that allows him to interact with a network of campaign donors.
He is one of the top messengers of the administration’s economic agenda, traveling to numerous states, and a central defender of the administration’s immigration policies after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in encounters with federal officials in Minnesota.
