Donald Trump has given his vice-president, JD Vance, a new side gig: \u201cfraud czar\u201d.<\/p>\n
The president this week announced a fresh crackdown on \u201cfraud\u201d in Democratic states and tapped Vance to lead the charge. Officials swiftly announced a string of arrests in California.<\/p>\n
In a Truth Social post on Friday, the US president announced that his vice-president was now \u201cin charge of \u2018fraud\u2019 in the United States\u201d, claiming the problem is \u201cmassive and pervasive\u201d. Without citing evidence, Trump said that Vance would focus on \u201ceverywhere but primarily in those blue states where crooked Democrat politicians \u2026 have had a \u2018free for all\u2019 in the unprecedented theft of taxpayer money\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump pointed to California<\/a>, Illinois, Minnesota, Maine and New York, and alleged fraud was \u201cso large that, if successful, we would literally be able to balance our American budget\u201d, without providing evidence.<\/p>\n Trump announces \u2018fraud\u2019 crackdown in Democratic states <\/p>\n In recent months, the Trump administration<\/a> argued that southern California was rife with healthcare fraud and pledged to crack down, while frequently using the matter politically to criticize the state\u2019s Democratic leadership. Nearly all cases cited by the justice department in the wave of arrests as part of \u201cOperation Never Say Die\u201d were tied to southern California.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n One of two US crew members rescued after F-15E jet shot down over Iran<\/p>\n One US service member has been rescued after a US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter was shot down over Iran<\/a>, prompting a frantic effort to locate its two-strong crew, in the first such incident since the war began almost five weeks ago.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Trump accused of running \u2018misogynistic administration\u2019 after Bondi dismissal<\/p>\n Donald Trump has been accused of running a \u201cmisogynistic administration\u201d after making Pam Bondi the second woman to be fired from a cabinet already dominated by men.<\/p>\n The US president dismissed the attorney general<\/a> on Thursday amid mounting frustration with her performance, especially over the release of files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The move came less than a month after Trump ousted Kristi Noem<\/a>, the homeland security secretary, after criticism of her management of the department and immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Relationship with Trump may be beyond repair, UK PM Starmer told<\/p>\n Keir Starmer has been warned his relationship with Donald Trump<\/a> may be beyond repair after the US president derided the prime minister for consulting his team about military decisions, in a mocking impersonation.<\/p>\n In a new low for UK-US relations, Trump appeared to imitate Starmer in a weak voice<\/a> during an Easter lunch speech at the White House, and said the UK was \u201cnot our best\u201d ally.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Democratic attorneys general sue Trump over order to restrict mail voting<\/p>\n More than 20 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit<\/a> Friday challenging Donald Trump\u2019s Tuesday executive order to restrict who can vote by mail.<\/p>\n In his order, Trump directed<\/a> the US Postal Service to abstain from sending mail-in or absentee ballots to people who were not on a pre-ordained list of eligible citizens.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n US military archbishop says Iran conflict does not meet \u2018just war\u2019 standard<\/p>\n The leader of all Catholic chaplains in the United States\u2019 armed forces has questioned how righteous the US military<\/a>\u2019s campaign in Iran is, saying that \u201cunder the just war theory \u2013 it is not\u201d.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n US defense spending would rise $445bn under Trump budget plan<\/p>\n Defense spending would surge to its highest level in decades under a budget proposal put forward by the Trump administration<\/a> on Friday, while other government programs would face cuts totaling 10%.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n What else happened today:<\/p>\n