The White House moved ahead this week with an effort to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse across federal welfare programs. Recent presidents have launched similar initiatives but failed to follow through. Can the Trump administration do it differently?
The welfare state grew dramatically during the covid era and stuck around. Total federal spending grew to about $6.9 trillion in the 2024 fiscal year, up from $5.6 trillion in 2019. Spending spiked to over $8 trillion in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Scammers took advantage, and the Government Accountability Office estimated in 2024 that the feds lose an estimated $233 billion to $521 billion every year to fraud.
Vice President JD Vance is leading a new task force that will focus on strengthening eligibility verification, facilitating data coordination with states, conducting audits and implementing other accountability measures. There’s real money to be saved if the effort doesn’t get distracted by its overly broad mandate, which also includes cracking down on remittance payments by those who receive public benefits.
A welfare state with more than 80 major federal programs creates a target rich environment. The government shells out far too much money to the states, with far too few strings attached. Medicaid, for example, is administered with an uncapped matching grant. That creates incentives for states to under-verify and for bad actors to brazenly over-bill. Open-ended entitlements like food stamps also create incentives for states to be less vigilant since they’re not picking up the extra tab.
The exposure of rampant fraud in Minneapolis rightly became a national story. A new audit reveals that Minnesota’s Department of Human Services failed to investigate three kickback allegations in a state program that funds autism services. That agency claimed it didn’t have the jurisdiction to follow-up, but the audit concluded that it “has long had legal authority” to investigate.
Without meaningful oversight, funding for autism services in the state ballooned from $3 million in 2018 to $400 million in 2023.
Other states are also facing tough questions about their mismanagement of federal money. In Maine, a federal audit in January found that the state’s Medicaid program made at least $45.6 million in “improper” payments for childhood autism services. While that report didn’t describe the payments as fraud, the federal government is requesting a $28.7 million refund.
The state responded to the administration’s inquiries earlier this month, even as Gov. Janet Mills (D) posted a defiant video in which she said President Donald Trump is trying to “distract from his failing agenda.”
This is a fight worth having, but the Trump administration needs to resist the temptation to focus exclusively on blue states. Florida, for example, is a repeat offender when it comes to Medicaid and Medicare fraud. Vance can beat back allegations that these efforts are conducted in bad faith if he gives red states the same level of scrutiny as their blue counterparts. It was an encouraging sign when Mehmet Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, acknowledged the Sunshine State has real problems.
Vance’s task force would also be wise to avoid scapegoating immigrants for fraud often committed by the native-born. It’s a predictable by-product of bloated federal programs. Trump’s executive order partially links “lax immigration policy” to welfare abuse. Leaning into xenophobia may play well with the MAGA crowd, but it will make it harder to enact lasting change.
Like the Department of Government Efficiency, this new task force has a great goal. But DOGE’s downfall was its messy execution and roughshod approach. Cynics with megaphones will cry foul whenever popular services get scrutinized, but taxpayers will come out ahead if the administration has the political courage to keep going, regardless of which party is harmed by embarrassing fraud revelations.
The post How Trump’s fraud task force succeeds appeared first on Washington Post.
