Vice President JD Vance revealed on Wednesday that the new White House Fraud Task Force will be sending letters to all 50 states demanding proof that state governments are taking Medicaid fraud seriously. He warned that any state failing to meet the Trump administration’s standards could face cuts to its Medicaid funding.
.@VP: "Today, we are sending, across 50 Medicaid programs, letters that will require them to show that they are effectively and aggressively prosecuting Medicaid fraud in their states—and, if they do not... we are going to turn off the money that goes to these anti-fraud units." pic.twitter.com/8ii4K1FnpR
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2026
.@VP on stopping rampant fraud:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 13, 2026
"You may think of this as purely a red state or blue state issue. That’s actually not true [...] This is just basic good government [...]
We want to protect Medicaid. We want to protect Medicare. But we can’t do that if the states that are… pic.twitter.com/E57IDJMGAQ
"Today, we are sending across 50 Medicaid programs, we are sending letters that will require them to show that they are effectively and aggressively prosecuting Medicaid fraud in their states," the vice presdient said. "And if they do not, if they do not aggressively prosecute Medicaid fraud, we are going to turn off the money that goes to these anti-fraud units."
"And I want to say a couple things about this."
You may think, obviously, this is a Republican administration, we're all proud Republicans up here. You may think that this is purely a red state or blue state issue. That's actually not true. We see Medicaid fraud issues in Ohio, the state that I used to represent in the United States Senate. We also see Medicaid issues, fraud issues in a state like Maryland, which is obviously a very blue state.
But both Ohio and Maryland have worked with us to take this issue seriously. They've worked with the guys behind me, they've worked with our entire team to make sure that they take fraud seriously. Again, this does not have to be a red state or a blue state issue.
This is just basic good government. However, states like California, states like Hawaii, states like New York have completely not taken the fraud issue seriously in the Medicaid program. And so for those states that refuse to get serious about fraud, we are going to turn off that anti-fraud money. And if we continue to find problems, we can turn off other resources within their state Medicaid programs as well.
Recommended
"Our goal here is not to do that. We don't want to turn off any money. What we want to do is ensure that people are taking fraud seriously," Vance added. "We want to protect Medicaid. We want to protect Medicare. But we can't do that if the states that are administering those programs are allowing those programs to be fleeced by fraudsters."
So we encourage, whether it's California or New York or Maryland or Ohio, we encourage people to work with us. We want to help you use technology and other tools to get rid of the fraud, to get to the root of the fraud. We want to help you. But we can only help these state programs if those state programs are willing to help them themselves. So these letters are the first step, the first effort to try to force these states to get serious about prosecuting fraud. And that's exactly what we're doing.
This comes as the Trump administration has made it a central goal to crackdon on waste, fraud and abuse across the country. While that effort began witht eh Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) it quickly expanded to include a new White House Fraud Task Force, led by Vice President JD Vance. Already they have begun operations in Califronia and other states, cracking down on fraud.
The group was created shorlty after massive Medicaid fraud was exposed in Minnesota, with the stated goal to "fight fraud, close loopholes, enforce eligibility rules, and protect benefits for eligible Americans, while ensuring States administering Federal benefits programs do the same."
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
Help us continue to report on President Trump's successes. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member