Democrats reluctantly hand Trump major victory on key program targeting Tim Walz
House Passes Bill to Make DOJ Fraud Unit Permanent, Garnering Bipartisan Support
WASHINGTON—In a rare moment of cross‑party agreement, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that would make the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division a permanent fixture. The measure passed 352‑72, with all 140 House Democrats voting in favor, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Every Democrat who opposed the bill was also one of its lone 72 dissenters.
The legislation follows the Trump administration’s January 2026 announcement of the division, which the White House described as a new agency tasked with investigating “fraud affecting the federal government, federally funded programs, and private citizens.” The move was portrayed as a tool to protect taxpayer dollars, though critics note that a fraud division has long existed within the DOJ under different names.
Earlier this year, the division entered the political spotlight when Vice President Mike Pence’s staff, led by then‑Vice President JD Vance, referred Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison to the unit for a potential criminal probe. Republicans charged that the investigation was a political attack amid claims that Minnesota’s social‑welfare programs were riddled with fraud—a “fraud epidemic,” the administration said.
“The bill is about a piece of legislation. It’s not a partisan initiative. It’s a permanent, non‑partisan commitment that we do something better because the people who are listening here, the people who are watching, they’re getting tired of it,” said Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R‑NJ) on the House floor. “They’re getting tired of all the money that has been wasted. And to try to pretend that just a few years ago, a couple of years ago, everything was perfect, everything was taken care of, and that there was no corruption, we know better.”
Opposing the measure, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D‑MD), a leading progressive, said he would provide “tepid support.” He noted that a fraud unit already exists at the DOJ. “This is hardly some kind of great breakthrough in law‑enforcement or criminal‑justice, but it is perhaps the least offensive piece of legislative flotsam and jetsam that has washed ashore in the last 48 hours of Republican chaos and retreat here in the House of Representatives,” Raskin remarked.
Raskin also questioned the fiscal impact of the proposed unit, asking, “Do you really think that $1.7 billion should go from what was going to be the pockets of the victims back into the bank account of the perpetrators?” He added a pointed critique of the administration’s focus: “Why don’t you cross the aisle and say it’s wrong for them to be pardoning white‑collar fraudsters after white‑collar fraudsters, or at least pardoning them from having to pay the fines and the restitution back?”
Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman (R‑WY) echoed concerns about the scale of fraud in Democratic‑controlled jurisdictions, stating, “What has come out of Minnesota over the last year is absolutely criminal in nature. I think what is coming, what is being exposed in blue cities and blue states run by Democrats, demonstrates that it’s probably higher by an order of magnitude.”
Despite the debate over the division’s necessity and scope, the bill’s overwhelming support reflects a shared frustration across the aisle with the perceived misuse of federal programs and the need for a clear, dedicated federal response. The House vote moves the legislation forward to the Senate, where it will again face partisan scrutiny.
The National Fraud Enforcement Division’s permanent status would formalize an executive‑order‑level entity, potentially giving it greater authority and funding to investigate and prosecute fraud cases nationwide. As the bill enters the next stage, lawmakers and watchdog groups will keep a close eye on how the new unit balances targeted investigations with broad oversight of federal programs.