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FIRST ON FOX: House Democrats paved the way for President Donald Trump’s anti-fraud division to survive beyond his presidency, but one Republican fears it’ll be a different outcome in the Senate.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., shared with Fox News Digital that he was introducing legislation that would make the National Fraud Enforcement Division permanent. It comes after a bill to do the same thing cruised through the House. The lawmaker made it official Tuesday night when the Senate reopened for business.
But the Senate is a different political animal, and Democrats’ possible reticence to give Trump a win before the midterm elections may thwart his plan. Schmitt, during an interview with Fox News Digital, contended that since the sprawling Minnesota fraud scandal was unveiled earlier this year, Democrats have been on the back foot.
DEMOCRATS RELUCTANTLY HAND TRUMP MAJOR VICTORY ON FRAUD PROGRAM TARGETING TIM WALZ
President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter during an event about healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, on Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
“They’re very defensive about it, and you know the fact is that you had — maybe it had something to do with this sort of toxic empathy or suicidal empathy [they] have done on immigration where you had these Somali fraudsters and maybe, maybe their instinct to defend every group of people that came here from somewhere else, even if they’re defrauding the American people, overrode their logic.”
Still, House Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., begrudgingly gave Trump a win last week and voted to make his anti-fraud task force permanent. That bipartisan vote comes as Democrats are reconciling with their messaging on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
And New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has increasingly been one of the progressive leaders of the party, warned Democrats had ceded ground on issues like quality of life and rooting out waste and fraud, and that finding waste had taken hold as a “right-wing concern” rather than an issue Democrats could champion.
DEMOCRATS BEGRUDGINGLY HAND TRUMP VICTORY ON TARIFFS IN SPRAWLING SANCTIONS BILL
“I know that we live in a hyper-partisan age, I get that,” Schmitt said. “But there are some things I don’t think should be partisan. Saving taxpayer money should be something we’re all focused on.”
“I mean these are criminals who, you know, are stealing from American taxpayers and the potential beneficiaries of important programs,” he continued.
Trump first announced the creation of a new division within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat fraud in January 2026 following reports of staggering fraud taking place in the backyard of one of his political enemies: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
TRUMP SAYS ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS ARE UNCOVERING BILLIONS IN WASTE, CLAIMS SAVINGS COULD BALANCE BUDGET
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., questions FBI Director Kash Patel during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 16, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The unit embedded in the DOJ was officially launched under then-acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, with the goal of targeting “fraud affecting the federal government, federally funded programs, and private citizens,” according to a release by the administration.
It’s chaired by Vice President JD Vance, who Trump tapped to be his de facto fraud czar, and run by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.
Schmitt argued that “having permanence in the Department of Justice will be important so that, no matter who is president, that this remains a focus.”
“To me, this shouldn’t be a partisan issue at all,” Schmitt said. “But sadly, we live in a world where Democrats aren’t as focused on this, but I think we’ve got an administration that is.”
And Schmitt leads the Senate’s Anti-Fraud Taskforce, launched in June, that includes only Republican members. That wasn’t by design.
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He said that they had extended an invitation to “Republicans and Democrats alike,” but only one side of the aisle accepted the call.
“I was a little surprised. I think some offices took a look at it and, for whatever reason, didn’t want to be part of the effort,” Schmitt said. “I don’t understand that.”
“But, you know, of course, the offer remains open if anybody wants to,” he continued. “I just think that this is something that our people back home expect us to work together on. And I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to be a part of an anti-fraud task force.”