The work that President Donald Trump and his administration are doing to root out waste, fraud, and abuse are popular among all political breakdowns, according to a poll obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.
A poll conducted by GrayHouse, conducted on behalf of the Senate Republican Conference, found that Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud — and its successes — are major winners for the Trump administration. Overall, 61 percent of respondents of all parties support the task force’s work, compared to only 23 percent who disapprove.
Even a plurality of 45 percent of Democrats approve of the task force’s goals, according to the GrayHouse poll, compared to only 35 percent who disapprove of them. By contrast, 86 percent of Republicans support it, compared to only six percent who disapprove of it.
But most importantly for Trump and for his fellow Republicans is support from independents for the task force’s goals. GrayHouse’s poll noted that the task force, which is led by Vice President JD Vance and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, “has referred 22 billion dollars in fraudulent small business loans to the Treasury for collection, deferred 1.3 billion dollars in suspicious Medicaid payments, and identified 6.3 billion dollars in suspected fraudulent government contracts.”
A majority of 51 percent of independents approve of those results, the poll found — and only 29 percent disapprove.
These numbers should all improve as the task force continues its work, which one of its key participants told the Reporter is the plan.
“My outstanding team and I have worked tirelessly to uncover fraud, protect taxpayer dollars, and hold bad actors accountable,” Anthony D’Esposito, the Inspector General for the United States Department of Labor, told the Reporter. “Fraudsters stole billions from the American people and thought they’d never be caught. They were wrong. As Inspector General and as a member of Vice President Vance’s White House Fraud Task Force, I’m focused on one mission: find the fraud, recover the money, and put criminals in cuffs.”
D’Esposito is far from alone in the Department of Labor when it comes to honing in on fraud. Keith Sonderling, the department’s Acting Secretary, told the Reporter in an interview that rooting out fraud is a top goal of his, as another member of the White House’s task force.
“The Department of Labor has played a significant role in the White House’s task force to eliminate fraud,” Sonderling explained. “We’re working daily with Vice President JD Vance really in the unemployment insurance system, to make sure that all taxpayer dollars that are going out are going to the right reasons to help people get back on their feet; we saw that there was an incredible amount of fraud, corruption, and waste and abuse in our unemployment insurance system, and we’re making sure that every one of your taxpayer dollars that’s going out is being held accountable, and we’re going to start prosecuting, along with our inspector general.”
One Senate GOP veteran told the Reporter that the task force’s work, while ongoing, will remain a priority. “Cracking down on Medicaid fraud, which is largely driven by migrants, is the single most popular issue Republicans have,” the source said of the poll’s results. “Even Democrats don’t like the Somali migrants becoming millionaires by pretending to provide autism services. Republican senators have been talking about how Chairman [Andrew] Ferguson’s work should be something every single Senator talks about to voters.”
