Vice President JD Vance has a new title as of Monday afternoon.
In addition to VP, Vance was handpicked by President Donald Trump to chair a brand new benefits fraud task force to tackle the nationwide “war on fraud”, according to Trump.
Trump signed an executive order this afternoon for the creation of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which will be chaired by Vance.
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson will assist Vance as vice chair and White House aide Stephen Miller will serve as senior adviser. Cabinet members will participate as necessary, according to reports.
Trump’s executive order designates the task force to develop a comprehensive national strategy against fraud impacting programs administered with state and local governments to provide housing, food, medical and financial assistance.
The order calls for the development of anti-fraud standards such as proof of identity and other documentation requirements, as well as audits.
The creation of the task force led by Vance comes on the heels of the ongoing fraud scandal that has been unearthed in Minnesota, which is governed by Vance’s former VP rival Tim Walz.
The project stems from a social-services scam scandal in Minnesota that has led to dozens of indictments, including for phony nutrition and autism care programs.
A document describing the order also highlight other states participating in accusations of fraud, including California.
The document surrounding Monday’s order says: “there is strong reason to believe similar vulnerabilities exist in California, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Colorado, where insufficient safeguards and weak oversight increase the risk of large-scale fraud.”
“In states across the country, fraudsters are depriving vulnerable citizens of basic social services, stealing billions of your tax dollars, and eroding America’s social fabric,” a Vance spokesperson told The New York Post.
“This fraud has happened on such a massive scale that it’s endangering the future viability of America’s entire social safety net.
“The Trump Administration is responding with a whole-of-government War on Fraud that includes multiple stakeholders who will follow the fraud wherever it leads.”
President Trump first teased the initiative at his annual State of the Union address to Congress last month.
Just one day after the State of the Union, Vance and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced that $259.5 million in Medicaid funds for Minnesota would not be reimbursed due to fraud concerns — ordering Walz 60 days to submit a “corrective action plan” or face further withholdings.