Trump to formally launch fraud task force, White House says

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on ‌Monday to formally launch a task ‌force to prove fraud nationwide led by U.S. Vice President ​JD Vance, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.

Trump and Vance are scheduled to sign the order at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1930 GMT) at the ‌White House, according ⁠to the president's schedule.

Trump previously tasked Vance with leading administration efforts to ⁠investigate fraud in Minnesota. The forthcoming order "will investigate fraud across the country," Leavitt told reporters ​at the ​White House.

The New York ​Post, citing a ‌document describing the order, singled out California, Illinois, New York, Maine and Colorado as U.S. states with "insufficient" fraud oversight. Reuters has not verified the report.

Vance last month criticized Minnesota Governor Tim ‌Walz, who was Democratic presidential ​candidate Kamala Harris' running mate ​in 2024, ​over his efforts to combat fraud ‌and froze than a quarter ​of a ​billion dollars of Medicaid funding for the state.

Walz has slammed the Trump administration for ​what he ‌called "a campaign of retribution."

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson ​and Nandita Bose; writing by Susan Heavey; ​editing by David Ljunggren)