WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to create a task force on fraud, which will be led by Vice President JD Vance.
Vance joined the president in the Oval Office for the signing of the order, which highlighted fraud in Minnesota, as well as other states.
“This is a very big thing that we’re doing,” Trump said ahead of the signing. “Having to do with all of the fraud that’s taking place in our country.”
What this executive order does is force the entire apparatus of the federal government to do two things,” Vance explained. “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 halting payments and criminal prosecutions are two steps the order will facilitate when it comes to fighting fraud in the U.S.
“We’re trying to take some innovative steps to ensure that when we find criminal fraud, we can actually prosecute it all the way to the end,” Vance said.
READ THE FULL EXECUTIVE ORDER HERE: ESTABLISHING THE TASK FORCE TO ELIMINATE FRAUD
During the signing, Trump referred to the fraud in Minnesota and the Somali population there.
“Somali is a third-world, maybe a fourth-world nation,” Trump said. “They come here and they steal $19 billion. It’s crazy.”
The president was also asked why other leaders have not taken steps to root out fraud. Trump said they are crooked.
They make money, they gain power,” Trump said. “Like with the Somalians, they vote in a bloc, 100%. They make a deal with the Somalians, they all vote because they’re on a gravy train.”
Last year, YouTuber Nick Shirley went viral for going to Minnesota and filming seemingly vacant daycare centers.
He alleged that millions of taxpayer dollars were funding these daycare centers, meaning that fraud was being funded. Following the video going viral, investigations and hearings were launched in Minnesota about fraud.
“The failure to ensure sufficient Federal oversight to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse has allowed irresponsible State politicians to increase Federal spending in their own States, which has contributed to inflation for health care services, housing, utilities, and groceries,” the order reads in part.
A fact sheet regarding the order states, “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.”
READ THE EXECUTIVE ORDER FACT SHEET: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud
Vance will be joined by Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson as the vice chair of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
“This fraud is just siphoning money that millions of Americans pay to fund their hospitals, to fund their daycare centers, into completely fake businesses. It isn’t just unfair to all of us, as taxpayers, who pay for all this, it’s particularly unfair to the Americans who need this the most,” Ferguson explained, describing the importance of the new task force.
White House aide Stephen Miller will also be a senior adviser. Cabinet members will also be joining.
“We are going to see the first-ever effort in American history to reclaim the ultimately trillions of dollars that were stolen from taxpayers,” Miller said during the signing.
“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 spokesperson for Vance said.