NEW: 140 House Dems Cave, Making Major Trump Program Permanent

More than 140 House Democrats joined Republicans on Wednesday to back legislation making President Donald Trump’s National Fraud Enforcement Division permanent inside the Justice Department.

The bill passed the House in a lopsided 352-72 vote, with all Republicans voting in favor and every lawmaker opposing the measure coming from the Democratic side.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was among the Democrats who supported the legislation.

The Trump administration created the National Fraud Enforcement Division earlier this year to investigate and prosecute fraud involving the federal government, federally funded programs and private citizens.

The House bill would codify the division into law rather than leave it dependent on executive action.

The legislation would also create an assistant attorney general position, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, to oversee federal efforts targeting fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.

The division has already become politically contentious after Vice President JD Vance referred Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison for possible investigation over fraud involving state-administered programs.

Walz and Ellison have acknowledged major fraud occurred in Minnesota programs but have rejected Republican accusations that they facilitated it.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said he would offer only “tepid support” for the legislation, arguing that the Justice Department has already maintained fraud-fighting operations for decades.

The House passed legislation to codify into law President Trump’s National Fraud Enforcement Division within DOJ. pic.twitter.com/tOLwCS5FvO

— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) September 17, 2026

“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 said on the House floor.

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Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., pushed back, arguing that the measure was aimed at turning an executive initiative into a permanent anti-fraud operation.

“This conversation is about a piece of legislation. It’s about a piece of legislation that we want to be enacted into law. It’s not a partisan initiative. It’s a permanent, nonpartisan commitment that we do something better because the people who are listening here… the people who are watching, they’re getting tired of it.”

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“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,” Van Drew said.

Republicans repeatedly pointed to fraud cases in Minnesota while arguing for tougher federal enforcement.

“What has come out of Minnesota over the last year, what has been exposed, is absolutely criminal in nature,” said Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo. “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.”

Raskin nevertheless made clear that his broader criticism of the Trump administration would not stop him from supporting the bill.

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“My dear friend from New Jersey wants to make it sound like I’m doing something partisan. I’m joining his bill.”

“It would be very easy for me to say I reject everything you do because you’re on the side of this pro-fraud president, but I’m not doing that. Your bill says, let’s call this the ‘National Fraud Enforcement Unit.’ I say, fine, that makes sense to me,” Raskin said. “Why don’t you cross the aisle and say it’s wrong for them to be pardoning white-collar fraudster after white-collar fraudster, or at least pardoning them from having to pay the fines and the restitution back? It’s an honest question. 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?”

Van Drew responded, “The gentleman has his numbers. He has his vision, he has his partisan ideas, and that’s up to him. But I’m trying to point out today… we’re trying to make something that is right now just an executive order and make it law to help the people.”

The vote gives the Donald Trump-created fraud division broad bipartisan backing in the House, though the legislation would still need Senate approval before reaching the president’s desk.

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