WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vice President JD Vance will convene the first meeting of a new White House anti-fraud task force on Friday. The task force is aimed at reducing federal spending by identifying misuse of federal funds.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order this month creating the anti-fraud task force. In February, Trump announced that Vance would lead a new effort to fight the administration's war on fraud.

Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson will serve as vice chair of the task force and attend the first meeting. Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller will serve as a senior adviser to the task force and attend the first meeting.

Other Cabinet secretaries and senior administration officials are expected to attend the first meeting of the task force on the White House grounds. A spokesperson said, "The task force is an integral part of the Trump Administration's effort to restore the vision of America as a high-trust society. Its work is already full steam ahead in rooting out the rampant waste, fraud and abuse across the country and finding the fraudsters who are robbing hard-working Americans."

Andrew Ferguson said he looks forward to working with the Vice President to deliver results to the American people and hold wrongdoers accountable.

President Trump, Vice President Vance and other task force members have targeted Minnesota for the task force's investigations. They have vowed that the task force will focus on other states as its work advances.

Minnesota is subject to an ongoing fraud probe involving day care centers and allegations of misuse of funds. After President Trump's State of the Union address last month, Vice President Vance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz announced a pause on federal Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota.

"He's in charge of it now with somebody who's very talented, but I think it's easy," Trump said. "We would solve half of the fraud problem in this country. We'd have more than a balanced budget; we'd have a surplus."

Vance and Ferguson sent a memo to task force members in a podcast interview saying the government must prosecute fraudsters and recover as much improperly obtained money as possible. The memo said that, alongside prosecutions, the government must prevent fraud before payments are made.

The memo said that top areas of concern are programs that pay out large sums of money with limited information about the ultimate recipients and uses of the funds. The memo cited Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as specific programs of concern.