In addition to scandal-racked Minnesota, the president indicated that California, Massachusetts, and Maine could see enforcement activity.
President Donald Trump has declared a “war on fraud” and said Vice President JD Vance would lead that effort.
During his State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24, Trump said, “I am officially announcing the war on fraud,” and asserted that “if we’re able to find enough of that fraud, we will actually have a balanced budget.”
He then said Vance would lead the effort before he singled out Minnesota as a hotbed of fraud, referring to dozens of fraud cases prosecuted there by federal lawyers over the past several years.
“The Somali pirates who ransack Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption, and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception,” he said, adding that illegal immigration and open borders have played a role in fraudulent activity.
As Trump was speaking, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who was in the House chamber, shouted at the president.
The president also suggested that California, Massachusetts, and Maine could see enforcement activity.
“We will take care of this problem. We’re going to take care of this problem,” he said. “We are not playing games.”
Upon taking office in January 2025, the second Trump administration pledged to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. Trump established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force led by Elon Musk until the tech billionaire left the government last spring.
Starting in December 2025, several federal department and agency heads said they would ratchet up fraud investigations in Minnesota and elsewhere.
Last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he sent notices about investigations into several money service businesses in Minnesota related to alleged Somali fraud schemes and is “requiring enhanced reporting of certain international transactions which can accelerate prosecutions and the recovery of laundered funds.”
In the midst of a federal immigration operation in Minneapolis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said her agency would be investigating fraud. She wrote on X that officers would be “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.”
