Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that President Donald Trump is creating a new attorney general position to lead government efforts to investigate and prosecute fraud cases.
Vance joined White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at an unscheduled briefing Thursday afternoon in which he asserted that fraud schemes like the one uncovered in Minnesota are taking place in other states, including California and Ohio.
“Those programs should go to American citizens, not be defrauded by Somali immigrants and others,” Vance declared, before noting the interagency effort the Trump administration has already launched to investigate the scandal, which has implicated members of the Somali community and community care centers, in part, on the abuse of pandemic-era programs.
“We also want to expand this,” Vance continued, stating that the new assistant attorney general position will help the government “prosecute the bad guy — the bad guys as swiftly and efficiently as possible.”
The vice president told reporters that Trump will nominate someone to fill the post in the next few days before adding that the appointee will work out of the White House, reporting to Trump and himself directly.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, welcomed Vance’s announcement shortly after it was made.
“As we’ve seen in Minnesota, government fraudsters are active, and their dishonest deeds are hurting hardworking Americans. This is welcome and timely news from the Department of Justice,” he wrote in a statement. “I applaud the Trump administration’s ongoing work to address waste, fraud and abuse, and ensure those who steal from American taxpayers are held accountable. Once President Trump selects his candidate for this important position, I look forward to leading the nominee’s confirmation process in the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Vance also took direct shots at Tim Walz (D-MN) on Thursday for his management of the fraud scandal as governor. Amid public scrutiny, Walz announced on Monday that he would not seek another term in office.
“Tim Walz is a joke. His entire administration has been a joke,” the vice president said, alleging that “he’s a guy who has enabled fraud, and maybe, in fact, has participated in fraud.”
Later in the briefing, Vance reiterated calls for Walz to resign, claiming that “it’s very clear either that he knew about the fraud in Minneapolis, he knew about the welfare fraud, or at the very least he looked the other way.”
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You can watch Vance’s comments in full below.