A new position will be created by the Justice Department to target fraud in Minnesota and across the country, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday.
Vance said that a new assistant attorney general position out of the Justice Department would be formed to focus on fraud in Minnesota. The announcement comes as there have been allegations of widespread fraud in Minnesota from fake daycare centers to other welfare fraud schemes.
“To make sure that we prosecute the bad guys and do it as swiftly and efficiently as possible … we are creating a new assistant attorney general position who will have nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud,” Vance said at a press briefing. “Now, of course, that person’s efforts will start and focus primarily in Minnesota, but it is going to be a nationwide effort, because unfortunately, the American people have been defrauded in a very nationwide way.”
🚨 @VP announces the Trump Administration will create a new Assistant Attorney General position who will have nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud — focusing first primarily in Minnesota, then expanding nationwide. pic.twitter.com/QnU1pti7kM
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 8, 2026
Vance said the new position was part of the administration’s interagency efforts to go after fraud he said was present in states like California, Minnesota, and Ohio.
“If you’re a young parent struggling to afford childcare in the United States of America, there are programs that we have to make it easier for your kids to get in daycare, for your kids to get in preschool,” Vance said. “Those programs should go to American citizens, not be defrauded by Somali immigrants, and others.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said he welcomed the announcement from Vance.
“Pres Trump/VP Vance’s announcement of a new Asst Atty General at Dept of Justice focused on fraud is GR8 NEWS 4 the American taxpayer Once Pres Trump selects his nominee I look fwd 2 overseeing their nomination,” Grassley posted on X.
Allegations of fraud in Minnesota, especially perpetrated by Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, have been the focus of the Trump administration in recent weeks, with federal law enforcement surging to the area. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services paused all childcare payments to the state of Minnesota while it investigated allegations that millions of taxpayer dollars have been funneled to fraudulent daycares across the state throughout the past ten years.
Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler said last week that her team had identified around $400 million in loans that may have been fraudulently obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. As a result, 6,900 borrowers in Minnesota were suspended from participating in SBA loan programs and could face further punishment.
In a larger move, the department also froze funding for programs that provide childcare and food assistance in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York as officials probe whether the benefits are being illegally funneled to non-citizens. The specific programs being halted in those states are the Child Care Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Social Services Block Grant program.
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