Trump Launches Task Force to Investigate Welfare Fraud in California

President claims fraud is '10 times worse' in Democratic states like California and Minnesota

Mar. 16, 2026 at 10:56pm by Ben Kaplan

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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order creating a new task force to investigate fraud in welfare programs, with a particular focus on California and Minnesota. The task force, led by Vice President JD Vance, will work to develop stricter eligibility verification procedures and pursue fraud networks across the country. Trump has accused officials in Democratic states of shielding undocumented immigrants to build political power, claiming the problem is especially bad at nursing homes and child care centers in California.

Why it matters

The president's move is the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and California over immigration and social services. Trump has repeatedly criticized California for providing public benefits to undocumented immigrants, and this task force represents an escalation of those efforts. The outcome could have significant implications for how federal funds are distributed and the ability of states to set their own policies around social services.

The details

The new task force will be empowered to identify welfare programs that are most susceptible to fraud and recommend withholding federal funds from jurisdictions with anti-fraud requirements that the administration considers inadequate. The administration argues this could save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, but the effort has faced some initial skepticism in the courts for targeting Democratic states. Trump has singled out California and Minnesota, claiming fraud is 'heavily, heavily, heavily Democratic' in those states.

  • On March 16, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order creating the new anti-fraud task force.
  • In January 2026, Trump briefly cut off billions of dollars in federal child care subsidies to California before a judge temporarily restored the funding.

The players

Donald Trump

The 45th President of the United States, who has made cracking down on welfare fraud a priority, particularly in Democratic-led states like California.

JD Vance

The current Vice President of the United States, who will lead the new task force investigating welfare fraud.

Gavin Newsom

The Governor of California, who has been a frequent target of Trump's criticism over the state's policies toward undocumented immigrants.

Mehmet Oz

The administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, who has visited a Los Angeles neighborhood that is a hospice fraud hotspot.

Rick Scott

A Republican Senator from Florida who is leading a congressional investigation into the fire that burned down much of the Pacific Palisades last January and has asked Vance to look into how California has used federal funding for wildfire prevention and recovery.

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What they’re saying

“I think they're going to find numbers that are far higher than you even think. It seems that it's usually in blue states. If it's in a red state, we'll go in there, too. But it seems that it's heavily, heavily, heavily Democratic. What they've done is so sad.”

— Donald Trump, President of the United States (sfchronicle.com)

“When you see all these people coming in illegally into our country, you look at California. And more and more come in, and yet they never had money, and yet they pay them. You know why they pay them? Because the federal government is charged with paying.”

— Donald Trump, President of the United States (sfchronicle.com)

“Gavin Newscum has admitted that he has learning disabilities. Honestly, I'm all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president. I think a president should not have learning disabilities, OK? And I know it's highly controversial to say such a horrible thing.”

— Donald Trump, President of the United States (sfchronicle.com)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow the new task force to begin its investigation into welfare fraud in California.

The takeaway

This move by the Trump administration represents an escalation of the ongoing battle between the federal government and California over immigration and social services. The outcome of this task force's investigation could have significant implications for how federal funds are distributed and the ability of states to set their own policies around social services.