VP JD Vance demands Justice Department probe Minnesota officials as White House presses 'war on fraud'

Vance, who has been tapped to lead the Republican Trump administration's anti-fraud efforts as he seeks to raise his political profile as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, cited in a letter to the Justice Department a report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that alleges Walz and Ellison were aware of pervasive misuse of government programs for years and let it flourish.

The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to questions Tuesday about whether it would open an investigation. It was unclear what, if any, potential violations of federal law could support a probe into the Democratic Minnesota officials, who have characterized a separate Justice Department investigation involving state leaders as politically motivated.

A spokesperson for Walz didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Ellison called the allegations unfounded and said there's no evidence his office ignored wrongdoing or failed to act as required by law. He dismissed Vance’s referral as “a political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests.”

“It is deeply troubling to see official powers and public resources diverted away from serving the people and instead aimed at pursuing political adversaries,” Ellison said in a statement. “That is not what government is for, and it diminishes public trust in our institutions.”

At a news conference, House Majority Whip and Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, a frequent critic of Walz, says the GOP-led House Oversight Committee alleges that the governor and Ellison were aware for years of widespread social services fraud and let it continue.

"Walz and Ellison created the perfect conditions for fraud, knowingly looked the other way when it was discovered and committed, and left hardworking taxpayers, disabled Americans that our conference chair was just referring to, and hungry children out to dry in the process," Emmer said.

Vance's referral to the Justice Department's new National Fraud Enforcement Division marks an escalation in the Trump administration's stated “war on fraud” in government programs that officials have said would not be political or partisan.

"We're doing the work. We're not engaged in a political process the way that committee is," Ellison said on WCCO Radio's Morning News Monday. "We're more focused on getting to answers, not trying to assign blame for the purposes of an election."

The new division has drawn intense scrutiny over the potential for political influence given its close relationship with President Donald Trump's White House, which announced its formation in January and initially said its leader would answer directly to the president instead of the typical Justice Department command.

"It does raise lots of questions regarding if this is politically motivated, and therefore potentially a constitutional violation," notes University of Minnesota political science professor David Schultz. "Or is there something real and substantive here?"

In his referral, Vance wrote that officials in Minnesota or anywhere else in the country “must be held accountable” if they facilitated fraud, prevented officials from stopping it or retaliated against whistleblowers who tried to report it.

“Minnesota state officials are not above the law,” Vance wrote in a post on X.

I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation. Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimated whistleblowers, they must face justice. https://t.co/EatSBh9Gh6 pic.twitter.com/7JeFcgkTV0

— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 9, 2026