Vice President JD Vance, center, arrives for an anti-fraud roundtable with Republican state attorneys general at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus on May 26, 2026 in Washington, DC (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – A handful of Democratic attorneys general said Tuesday that experts from their offices were denied access to a major anti-fraud meeting at the White House convened by Vice President JD Vance and attended by Republican caucuses.
Two dozen Democratic attorneys general had previously declined invitations to their own participation in the White House anti-fraud roundtable, citing the extremely tiny notice and lack of an agenda in a letter to Vance, who has led the Trump administration’s sweeping anti-fraud efforts.
Instead, some top officials sent from their offices to Washington. Democratic attorneys general in California, New York and New Jersey said at a news conference later Tuesday that officials from their states would not be allowed to attend the anti-fraud meeting.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said officers from Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland and Nevada were also turned away, and that reason appears to have partly to do with the officers’ titles.
“They gave various reasons that were contradictory and that didn’t make sense,” James said. “Ultimately, the message is that there were experts who have worked on complex fraud cases who have worked in our respective offices throughout the year – they have successfully participated in prosecutions, investigations and settlements that have yielded millions and millions of dollars, and they have all been turned away despite receiving their response on Friday evening and in some cases on Saturday.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the news conference, said: “We will not be used as a prop on Vance’s political performance.”
Bonta was joined by James, as well as Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.
“The truth is that Democratic AGs have collected billions of taxpayer dollars, secured criminal convictions and implemented reforms to strengthen the security of our programs,” Bonta added.
The California Attorney General noted that “the brief notice we received sends a clear signal that we were either an afterthought or not truly welcome.”
Although the original invitation was addressed only to AGs, exceptions were made for chiefs of staff or deputy attorneys general, according to a person familiar with the round of fraud.
Lower-ranking employees, both Republicans and Democrats, did not participate and the guidelines were clarified in advance of the roundtable, this person said.
Trump administration anti-fraud campaign
At the meeting, Vance and administration officials made brief remarks before ushering the press out so they could have “the real conversation.”
Minnesota has been at the center of the government’s efforts to combat suspected fraud. Just last week, administration officials announced this was the case Load 15 people in the state for alleged Medicaid fraud schemes with intended losses totaling several million dollars.
In a list provided by the Republican Attorneys General Association in advance of the event, the following attorneys general were scheduled to attend the Vance session: Tim Griffin of Arkansas; Raul Labrador of Idaho; Todd Rokita of Indiana; Brenna Bird of Iowa; Kris Kobach of Kansas; Russell Coleman of Kentucky; Lynn Fitch of Mississippi; Austin Knudsen of Montana; Mike Hilgers of Nebraska; Drew Wrigley of North Dakota; Andy Wilson of Ohio, Gentner Drummond of Oklahoma; Marty Jackley of South Dakota; and Derek Brown of Utah.
Bird, of Iowa, said in a news release that she attended the fraud task force meeting with other AGs to “discuss the joint efforts between the White House and state attorneys general to combat benefit fraud and the resources state attorneys general need to combat fraud in their states.”
She added: “When bad actors commit fraud – whether against the government, against corporations or against individuals, the American taxpayer is always on the hook. I have fought to protect Iowans from fraud for the past four years as attorney general, and I have no plans to stop.”
Democrats complain about short-termism
The state’s two dozen Democratic attorneys general wrote to Vance early Tuesday saying that while they “appreciated the opportunity for serious discussion, the invitation was given with less than one business day’s notice and without an agenda,” according to a letter obtained from States Newsroom.
The group added that “this short notice does not reflect the spirit of cooperation that has long characterized our joint efforts with federal partners.”
POLITICALLYwhich first reported the letter and Democrats’ decision not to attend the meeting, noted that Republican attorneys general had been invited days earlier and the event was originally supposed to include only them.
“As I have said repeatedly, this does not need to and should not be a partisan effort,” Vance said during the roundtable.
“Everyone should care about fraud, everyone should care about rooting out fraud, everyone should care about saving American taxpayers money, and most of all, everyone should care about actually protecting the programs that only work and are properly funded only if the money that funds those programs is not stolen by fraudsters.”
The vice president said at the meeting that representatives from the attorneys general in Connecticut and Oregon were present.
In a statement after the meeting, the executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association criticized Democrats.
“While Republican attorneys general aggressively combat fraud, waste and abuse, Democratic attorneys general like Keith Ellison in Minnesota and Letitia James in New York knowingly support scams and fraud in their states,” said Adam Piper, the executive director. “Republican AGs are excited to roll up their sleeves and work with former Republican AG staffer JD Vance, Andrew Ferguson, Scott Brady and the White House Task Force to save taxpayers billions of dollars and ensure maximum accountability. Vice President Vance is right – this is not a partisan issue. However, the Democrats’ historic inaction speaks volumes.”
