President Donald Trump said Thursday he had directed Vice President JD Vance to give his “complete and total attention” to what Trump described as widespread crime and corruption in Democratic-led cities and states. He claimed billions of dollars were being stolen each month.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump named Minnesota, California and Illinois as examples of states he said were poorly managed and rife with corruption. He argued that addressing the alleged criminal activity could help balance the federal budget.
“I have asked Vice President Vance to focus his complete and total attention on the Massive Corruption and Crime taking place in Democrat run Cities and States throughout the U.S.,” Trump wrote.
He added that “billions of dollars” were being stolen every month, but did not cite specific examples or explain how he arrived at that figure.
Vance already heads the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, created by Trump in a March 16 executive order to address fraud, waste and abuse in federally funded benefit programs. The task force is responsible for coordinating efforts to verify eligibility, prevent improper payments and identify suspected fraud.
The order named Minnesota, California and Illinois among states where the administration said benefit programs faced widespread fraud or vulnerabilities.
In October, the task force said it was preparing to announce criminal charges against more than 40 people accused of participating in an alleged $40 million fraud scheme involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The task force has also said it identified $260.7 billion in suspected fraud since Trump took office and helped prevent an estimated $72 billion in potentially fraudulent payments on an annualized basis. Those figures have not been independently verified.
It was unclear whether Trump’s latest instruction would broaden Vance’s existing role or put renewed emphasis on investigations in Democratic-led jurisdictions.
Trump said tackling the alleged corruption could help balance the federal budget, writing that it could be “quickly BALANCED” by correcting what he called large-scale criminal activity. He did not explain how those efforts would produce a balanced budget.
He then turned to Iran, saying the United States no longer needed to negotiate an agreement with Tehran. Trump claimed the U.S. had “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” and control of the Strait of Hormuz, but did not provide details about either assertion.
