Vice President J.D. Vance announced a new partnership between the federal government and 15 state attorneys general offices on Thursday, describing the initiative as a coordinated effort to crack down on fraud, recover taxpayer money, and protect the integrity of government programs.
The announcement reflects the Trump administration’s growing focus on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse across federal agencies. Vance said the effort is designed to combine the federal government’s resources with the local knowledge and prosecutorial capabilities that state attorneys general bring to the table.
“Thanks to all of you for being here,” Vance said. “Very gratified and proud of the fact that we have 15 different state AG offices represented here today, who are focused on helping us in combating fraud all over our government.”
According to Vance, federal investigators can benefit significantly from the expertise of state officials who often have a clearer picture of what is happening on the ground within their own jurisdictions.
“One of the things we’ve realized in combating fraud is that the resources of the federal government, while vast, can be supplemented and aided by a lot of the people who know best what’s happening in their states, which is the attorneys general represented here today,” he said.
The vice president emphasized that state attorneys general possess valuable legal and investigative tools that can strengthen anti-fraud efforts.
“They have a lot of legal resources, they have a lot of prosecutorial resources, and of course they have the desire to prevent fraud as much as we do,” Vance said.
The new alliance comes amid heightened scrutiny of government spending programs, particularly after multiple investigations uncovered billions of dollars in fraudulent claims tied to pandemic relief initiatives and other taxpayer-funded programs. Administration officials have argued that fraud not only wastes public money but also undermines programs intended to help legitimate recipients.
Vance said the state-federal partnership will focus on identifying fraud schemes, sharing information, supporting investigations, and pursuing enforcement actions when appropriate.
“We’re going to work together, state and federal government, to try to combat fraud,” he said.
Notably, Vance stressed that the initiative is intended to transcend partisan politics. He pointed to participation from officials representing states with different political leanings, including Connecticut and Oregon, as evidence that fraud prevention should unite rather than divide public officials.
“I’m particularly gratified here that this is not a partisan effort,” Vance said.
“This should not be a partisan effort. Everybody should care about fraud, everybody should care about rooting out fraud, everybody should care about saving the American taxpayers money.”
Vance argued that protecting taxpayer dollars is only part of the mission. Preventing fraud, he said, is also essential to preserving public trust and ensuring that government programs remain adequately funded for those who legitimately qualify for assistance.
“Everybody should care about actually protecting the programs that only work and are only properly funded if the money funding those programs isn’t being stolen by fraudsters,” Vance concluded.
