Trump anti-fraud task force targeting California and more states to be led by JD Vance, sources say
A new White House anti-fraud task force that will search for welfare abuses in California and other states is in the final stages of planning by the vice president and the head of an independent consumer protection agency, multiple sources briefed on the plans told CBS News.
President Trump intends to sign an executive order in coming days naming Vice President JD Vance as chairman of the task force, a move that's meant to signal the importance of the effort to the president.
Andrew Ferguson, a federal official whose job is to prevent consumers from being exploited, will be vice chairman. Ferguson will manage both the Federal Trade Commission, where he is currently chairman, and the daily activities of the new task force, two of the sources said.
The plan calls for Colin McDonald, who has been nominated by Mr. Trump for a newly created fraud investigator role at the Justice Department, to fall within the DOJ's management structure – reporting to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche – but to work closely with Vance and Ferguson.
Such an arrangement will likely trigger concerns from Democrats and watchdogs about whether the White House could try to exert political pressure on McDonald to investigate Mr. Trump's enemies.
The new anti-fraud efforts could sidestep existing fraud units at the Justice Department. That's partly because of frustration with resistance from career staff who disagree with some of Mr. Trump's priorities and tactics, which some officials think Bondi and Blanche have struggled to deal with, one of the sources said.
Other officials said the DOJ's national fraud enforcement division, which Vance announced last month, and the task force came about because of keen interest in clamping down on fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.
California auditors have discovered billions in fraud in unemployment claims, pandemic assistance, and health care. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely presidential candidate in 2028, has defended efforts to clean up and block fraud.
In Minnesota, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz dropped his reelection bid amid scrutiny of massive fraud in state child care and other welfare programs.
The timeline for Mr. Trump's signature creating the task force could shift to later this month, sources said.
White House spokespeople declined to comment.
Vance currently serves as the vice chair of the White House's task forces for the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 and 2028 Summer Olympics, and well as finance chair for the Republican National Committee — a key fundraising position that allows him to interact with a network of campaign donors.
He is one of the top messengers of the administration's economic agenda, traveling to numerous states, and a central defender of the administration's immigration policies after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in encounters with federal officials in Minnesota.
At the trade commission, Ferguson has continued litigation against major U.S. companies, including tech giants, and has sought refunds for consumers. Amazon in September agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement, and FTC is appealing its case against Meta for allegedly breaking antitrust laws when it bought Instagram and WhatsApp.
Officials in Blanche's office were still in the early stages of figuring out how to build the Justice Department's new fraud division from scratch, including factors such as where it will be located, how it will be be staffed and what IT infrastructure needs to be in place, a source familiar with the planning said this week.
It was also unclear how it would be structured to avoid duplicating the several existing units that pursue fraud probes, both at the department's Washington, D.C. headquarters and in U.S. attorneys' offices across the country.
