As Democrats Fight Tooth and Nail Against Efforts to Safeguard Taxpayer Money, Republicans’ Work Is Getting Real Results
THIS YEAR, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS HAD A STRING OF SUCCESSES IN CRACKING DOWN ON CRIMINAL FRAUD SCHEMES AGAINST AMERICAN TAXPAYERS
- “If Team Trump’s anti-fraud efforts sometimes look a bit all-over-the-map, that’s because the map is so incredibly large.” (New York Post: Editorial: Team Trump’s anti-fraud drive is making more news than anyone can follow – 7/22/26)
- “One day [last] week, the Justice Department announced it had finally nabbed a fugitive Medicare fraudster on the lam since 2022, who allegedly stole more than half a billion dollars.” (New York Post: Editorial: Team Trump’s anti-fraud drive is making more news than anyone can follow – 7/22/26)
- “FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency captured a fugitive accused of orchestrating a massive Medicare fraud scheme worth more than half a billion dollars.” (KATV: Fugitive accused in $547M Medicare fraud scheme captured after 3 years on the run: FBI – 7/21/26)
- “About the same time, Scott Bessent’s Treasury stopped $100 million in tax money going to dead people thanks to new verification procedures, while the IRS chief revealed that a recent scrub of the Social Security Number database found that one in 10 recipients were erroneously listed.” (New York Post: Editorial: Team Trump’s anti-fraud drive is making more news than anyone can follow – 7/22/26)
- “To date, Treasury has screened over 885 million payments totaling approximately $2.77 trillion as part of the new payment verification process. The screening has identified more than 4,900 payments worth approximately $99 million that were associated with deceased payees. Those payments were returned to the originating federal agencies for review before any funds were disbursed.” (U.S. Department of the Treasury: Treasury Successfully Implements New Safeguard to Stop Payments to Deceased Individuals – 7/21/26)
- “The Trump administration deployed a federal strike team to New York… as part of a crackdown on fraudsters who took nearly $1 billion in unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Post has learned. The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, which first unearthed the stunning fraud total, is participating in the joint strike force headed to the Empire State, where up to $2 million per day is being bilked by fraudsters instead of going toward unemployment insurance, according to administration officials.” (New York Post: Labor Dept. deploys strike team to NY as unemployment fraud hits nearly $2M per day: officials – 7/13/26)
- “Last month, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges against 455 people for $6.5 billion in health-care fraud.” (New York Post: Editorial: Team Trump’s anti-fraud drive is making more news than anyone can follow – 7/22/26)
- “Located in 45 states and U.S. territories, the defendants participated in fraud schemes involving $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs, Blanche said.” (Spectrum News: DOJ charges 455 defendants with healthcare fraud worth $6.5B – 6/23/26)
- “The announcement includes charges against 90 medical professionals and targets a range of alleged healthcare fraud schemes, such as wound care and opioid distribution. It also includes what officials said is a record number of Medicaid fraud defendants, with nearly 300 people accused of submitting over $500 million in false Medicaid claims.” (The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Unveils $6.5 Billion Healthcare Fraud Crackdown – 6/23/26)
- “This announcement marks the greatest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history. These alleged fraudsters will face justice.” – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
THESE EFFORTS WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S TASK FORCE TO ELIMINATE FRAUD AND REPUBLICANS’ WORKING FAMILIES TAX CUTS LAW, WHICH HOLDS STATES ACCOUNTABLE FOR MISMANAGING MEDICAID PROGRAMS
- Back in March, “President Trump signed an executive order creating a benefits-fraud task force chaired by Vice President JD Vance as part of his state-focused ‘war on fraud.’” (New York Post: Trump formally names Vance chair of fraud task force — with California, New York among states in crosshairs – 3/16/26)
- With zero Democrat support, “[t]he Senate confirmed a longtime federal prosecutor to a new Justice Department role focused on prosecutions of fraud in government programs. The Senate… approved Colin McDonald’s nomination 52-47 for assistant attorney general for fraud enforcement.” (PN786-9: Roll Call Vote #65 – 3/24/26; NPR: Senate confirms Trump’s pick for new role of fraud enforcement at Justice Department – 3/24/26)
- Last year’s Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts enacted several policies to protect taxpayer money and maintain the integrity of government programs:
- Establishes work requirements for able-bodied adults to receive taxpayer-funded Medicaid coverage.
- Ensures that certain noncitizens do not receive Medicaid benefits.
- Prevents duplicative enrollments of beneficiaries in multiple states.
- Ensures that Medicaid beneficiaries and providers who are deceased do not remain enrolled in the program.
- Requires states to redetermine Medicaid eligibility for the expansion population once every six months, rather than once annually. (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Working Families Tax Cuts – accessed 7/30/26)
- “The Trump administration is withholding more than $1 billion in Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota over what it deems suspect claims. Tuesday’s funding suspension is the latest action by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to target Medicaid funding in the two states. More than $2.5 billion has been deferred from them due to fraud concerns this year.” (Politico: CMS suspends more than $1 billion in Medicaid dollars to Minnesota and California over suspected fraud – 7/21/26)
- “CMS reviewed California’s claims for certain in-home care programs after identifying spending growth that far exceeded national trends and other claims that require additional documentation. As a result, CMS is deferring approximately $867.5 million in federal Medicaid payments until the state provides the information needed to support those claims.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: HHS Defers More Than $1 Billion in Medicaid Payments to California, Minnesota Pending Review of High-Risk Claims in Crackdown on Fraud – 7/21/26)
- “CMS also reviewed Medicaid claims in 14 high-risk service areas in Minnesota. The review identified claims that require additional documentation, including expenditures linked to providers flagged through program integrity reviews and other claims with potential eligibility or billing concerns. CMS is deferring approximately $199 million in federal Medicaid payments while that review continues.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: HHS Defers More Than $1 Billion in Medicaid Payments to California, Minnesota Pending Review of High-Risk Claims in Crackdown on Fraud – 7/21/26)
DEMOCRATS, MEANWHILE, ARE FOCUSED ON SUPERSIZING THE IRS AND DISMANTLING AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS
- “Dozens of House Democrats are supporting a new effort to replenish billions in pared-back IRS modernization funding, which they say is necessary to enforce tax law and help taxpayers.” (Bloomberg: Democrats Push to Restore $83 Billion in Clawed-Back IRS Funds – 7/20/26)
- “The push to restore roughly $83 billion that’s largely been clawed back since Democrats set aside a similar pot of money in their 2022 tax-and-climate law indicates the party still sees the agency as integral to its tax-the-rich ambitions.” (Bloomberg: Democrats Push to Restore $83 Billion in Clawed-Back IRS Funds – 7/20/26)
- “Senators are introducing legislation that would provide tens of billions of dollars funding to the IRS, undoing a series of clawbacks. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and backed by Democrats including Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), would provide the agency over $83 billion in mandatory funding through Fiscal Year 2031, reversing both recissions to funding initially provided in Democrats’ 2022 tax-and-climate law and discretionary spending cuts to the IRS.” (Bloomberg: IRS Funding Clawbacks Would Be Reversed Under Senators’ Bill – 4/15/26)
- “The bill has the support of more than half of the Senate Democratic caucus, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).” (Bloomberg: IRS Funding Clawbacks Would Be Reversed Under Senators’ Bill – 4/15/26)
- “A top Democratic socialist leader on Sunday embraced abolishing the Senate, national borders, prisons and more, laying bare the movement’s sweeping agenda as ideological divisions within the Democratic Party continue to deepen.” (Fox News: DSA co-chair embraces abolishing Senate, ICE, borders as Democratic infighting escalates – 7/26/26)
- “Speaking to Fox News’ Shannon Bream, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) national co-chair Megan Romer fired off a series of ‘yes’ and ‘true’ responses when asked whether the organization’s platform calls for dismantling major American institutions.”
- “‘[You’re advocating for] abolish[ing] the Senate?’ Bream asked. ‘True,’ Romer responded.” (Fox News: DSA co-chair embraces abolishing Senate, ICE, borders as Democratic infighting escalates – 7/26/26)
- SHANNON BREAM: “Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them.”
- DSA NATIONAL CO-CHAIR MEGAN ROMER: “Yep.”
- BREAM: “Abolish ICE.”
- ROMER: “Absolutely.”
- BREAM: “Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the U.S. illegally.”
- ROMER: “As a long-term plan, yep.”
- BREAM: “Defund the Pentagon.”
- ROMER: “Absolutely.”
- BREAM: “Abolish prisons, at least in large part.”
- ROMER: “Yeah, again, that as part of a long-term program, yeah.”
- BREAM: “Okay, so no prisons. Government or public ownership of most large corporations.”
- ROMER: “Yeah, absolutely.” (Fox News: Fox News Sunday – 7/27/26)