Trump anti-fraud task force targeting California will be led by Vance: sources

A caller White House anti-fraud task unit that volition hunt for payment abuses successful California and different states is successful the last stages of readying by the vice president and the caput of an autarkic user extortion agency, aggregate sources briefed connected the plans told CBS News. 

President Trump intends to motion an enforcement bid successful coming days naming Vice President JD Vance arsenic president of the task force, a determination that's meant to awesome the value of the effort to the president. 

Andrew Ferguson, a national authoritative whose occupation is to forestall consumers from being exploited, volition beryllium vice chairman. Ferguson volition negociate some the Federal Trade Commission, wherever helium is presently chairman, and the regular activities of the caller task force, 2 of the sources said. 

The program calls for Colin McDonald, who has been nominated by Mr. Trump for a recently created fraud researcher relation astatine the Justice Department, to autumn wrong the DOJ's absorption operation – reporting to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche – but to enactment intimately with Vance and Ferguson.

Such an statement volition apt trigger concerns from Democrats and watchdogs astir whether the White House could effort to exert governmental unit connected McDonald to analyse Mr. Trump's enemies. 

The caller anti-fraud efforts could sidestep existing fraud units astatine the Justice Department. That's partially due to the fact that of vexation with absorption from vocation unit who disagree with immoderate of Mr. Trump's priorities and tactics, which immoderate officials deliberation Bondi and Blanche person struggled to woody with, 1 of the sources said. 

Other officials said the DOJ's nationalist fraud enforcement division, which Vance announced past month, and the task unit came astir due to the fact that of keen involvement successful clamping down connected fraud successful taxpayer-funded programs.

California auditors person discovered billions successful fraud successful unemployment claims, pandemic assistance, and wellness care. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a apt statesmanlike campaigner successful 2028, has defended efforts to cleanable up and artifact fraud.

In Minnesota, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz dropped his reelection bid amid scrutiny of monolithic fraud successful authorities kid attraction and different payment programs.

The timeline for Mr. Trump's signature creating the task unit could displacement to aboriginal this month, sources said. 

White House spokespeople declined to comment.

Vance presently serves arsenic the vice seat of the White House's task forces for the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 and 2028 Summer Olympics, and good arsenic concern seat for the Republican National Committee — a cardinal fundraising presumption that allows him to interact with a web of run donors. 

He is 1 of the apical messengers of the administration's economical agenda, traveling to galore states, and a cardinal defender of the administration's migration policies aft the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti successful encounters with national officials successful Minnesota.

At the commercialized commission, Ferguson has continued litigation against large U.S. companies, including tech giants, and has sought refunds for consumers. Amazon successful September agreed to a $2.5 cardinal settlement, and FTC is appealing its lawsuit against Meta for allegedly breaking antitrust laws erstwhile it bought Instagram and WhatsApp.

Officials successful Blanche's bureau were inactive successful the aboriginal stages of figuring retired however to physique the Justice Department's caller fraud part from scratch, including factors specified arsenic wherever it volition beryllium located, however it volition beryllium be staffed and what IT infrastructure needs to beryllium successful place, a root acquainted with the readying said this week.

It was besides unclear however it would beryllium structured to debar duplicating the respective existing units that prosecute fraud probes, some astatine the department's Washington, D.C. office and successful U.S. attorneys' offices crossed the country.