After years of absentee oversight that enabled government fraud and abuse to run rampant, President Donald Trump and his advisers are tightening the federal purse strings.

Late last month the Trump administration suspended over $1 billion of Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota, citing suspected fraud and noncompliance. The deferrals come on the heels of another $1.5 billion of halted payments the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took against the same two states earlier this year.

The actions send a clear message: States that refuse to get serious about fraud and abuse will quickly see the spigot of federal funding shut off.

It's about time. The Government Accountability Office estimates that taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion to fraud every year. The federal government made at least $186 billion of improper payments last year, over half of which occurred in health care programs.

Since 2003, the federal government has made $3 trillion in improper payments. That's not a rounding error; it's huge chunks of taxpayer money handed out to criminals. Another recent report found that 20 programs account for nearly 90% of federal obligations, making them high risk for abuse.

Liberal states have refused to police this epidemic of taxpayer exploitation. They insist that commonsense measures to verify eligibility somehow disadvantage at-risk communities. If an individual accepts a job, they must file the appropriate paperwork with their employer. Why should they not have to meet similar verification benchmarks to accept a check from Uncle Sam?

Democrats swear up and down a person should have to consent to a background check, complete a waiting period and safety course, and meet an age requirement to purchase a firearm — a right written into the Constitution. But when it comes to enrolling in a taxpayer-funded program, it becomes heresy that an individual should have to prove they actually qualify for it.

It is appropriate that the Trump administration started with California and Minnesota, two states that have shown utter contempt for accountability.

Under what one newspaper called California Gov. Gavin Newsom's "Empire of Fraud," Californians lost at least $180 billion to fraud and mismanagement. During the pandemic, unemployment insurance fraud in California exceeded $32 billion. Between 2019 and 2024, the state spent $24 billion on homeless programs, yet its homeless population grew. And more recently, an investigation revealed widespread Medicaid and Medicare fraud by sham hospice centers.

Under Newsom, spending on the state's public health insurance program, Medi-Cal, increased from $94 billion in 2018 to over $197 billion, even as California's population shrank. That's an unmistakable red flag.

Either the governor blithely ignored or was willfully negligent to the problem. Either way, it bodes poorly for the man who pitches himself as the future of the Democrat Party.

Likewise, Minnesota distinguished itself as a destination for criminals. Gov. Tim Walz turned a blind eye to massive schemes that defrauded taxpayers of more than $9 billion. A U.S. House Oversight Committee report released in June states that Walz failed for years to address widespread pilfering of the state's social programs, even after receiving repeated warnings.

The CMS's deferred payments to Minnesota specifically target 14 high-risk programs that the state's legislative auditor identified as vulnerable to fraud.

It shouldn't take massive scandals to make public leaders get tough on fraud and abuse. Stealing from taxpayers is never acceptable, no different than if they were robbed at gunpoint. Yet the left is content to let it continue. They would rather funnel money to criminals and illegal immigrants than steward families' hard-earned money, because accountability doesn't grow the welfare line.

The Trump administration has shown it takes fraud seriously. Earlier this year, it launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, headed by Vice President JD Vance. The initiative has already identified $230 billion in government fraud and stopped $56 billion in fraudulent payments. No wonder the public supports it.

The administration's suspension of payments to California and Minnesota is another major step toward stopping the robbery of federal coffers. Let's hope it sends a message to other states across the country to toughen up on fraud or wean themselves off taxpayers' money.

Ken Buck served in the United States House of Representatives from 2015-2024 representing Colorado's 4th congressional district. He now serves as a Fellow with the Independent Center. To find out more about Ken Buck and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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