UMVA has learned that Vice President JD Vance and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson are convening a high‑stakes roundtable with state attorneys general to unleash a nationwide assault on federal benefits fraud.
The gathering, set for this afternoon, will bring together more than a dozen Republican attorneys general and, after Vance’s insistence, a handful of Democratic counterparts—though the latter balked at the last‑minute invitation.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Democrats received a single‑day notice on Friday with a Saturday RSVP deadline, sparking fury and a joint letter denouncing the “lack of agenda and spirit of collaboration.”
Republican officials, in contrast, were alerted a full week in advance, underscoring the tension that now colors the administration’s anti‑fraud crusade.
The White House Task Force, created by executive order, vows to tighten eligibility verification, install pre‑payment controls, and dismantle fraud networks that siphon billions from programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and hospice care.
Since February, the administration has frozen nearly $260 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota, charged dozens of schemers in California’s hospice fraud rings, and suspended hundreds of high‑risk providers across the West Coast.
In a sweeping move, the Task Force uncovered $6.3 billion in suspect government contracts, prompting an aggressive investigation that has already yielded guilty pleas, criminal warrants, and dozens of enforcement actions.
Recent milestones include a $1.4 billion suspension of home‑health and hospice funding nationwide, a $22 billion referral of fraudulent pandemic‑era loans for collection, and a new whistleblower program empowering citizens to expose waste.
The administration’s relentless push has also targeted immigration student work programs, fraudulent student loans, and even a viral daycare fraud case in Minneapolis, reflecting a broadening net that spans health care, education, and social services.
As the roundtable kicks off at 2 p.m. ET, the nation watches to see whether this coordinated offensive will finally cripple the sprawling fraud enterprises draining federal resources.
