Democrats say they were shut out of fraud event after Vance says crackdown should not be a partisan'

Three Democratic state attorneys general said their deputies were turned away from a roundtable hosted by JD Vance in Washington, DC. Letitia James, Rob Bonta, and Jennifer Davenport said their offices declined a last-minute invitation to participate alongside Republican counterparts. They stated that representatives traveled to attend but were shut out. Vance said representatives from Oregon and Connecticut were present and framed the effort as nonpartisan, saying the taskforce has exposed billions in stolen benefits since launching in March. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Democrats announced their nonattendance in a letter signed by 24 state attorneys general, citing less than one business day notice and no agenda while reaffirming commitment to stopping fraud, waste, and abuse.

"Three Democratic state attorneys general said their deputies were turned away from a roundtable hosted by JD Vance on Tuesday, sowing confusion about what the White House has billed as a bipartisan crackdown on fraud. After attorneys general including New York's Letitia James, California's Rob Bonta and New Jersey's Jennifer Davenport declined a last-minute invitation to participate in the event alongside their Republican counterparts, they said representatives from their offices travelled to Washington to attend, but were shut out."

"My deputy attorney general went to Washington DC today, and unfortunately was not allowed access to the meeting, James told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, after Vance convened more than a dozen Republican state attorneys general as part of the White House's campaign to root out fraud in government programs. The White House did not respond to requests for comment."

"In his remarks at the roundtable on Tuesday, Vance, chair of the White House taskforce to eliminate fraud, said representatives from the Democratic state attorneys general offices in Oregon and Connecticut were present. This should not be a partisan effort everybody should care about fraud, the vice-president said, claiming that the taskforce has exposed billions of dollars in benefits that have been stolen from the American people since it was launched in March."

"The Democrats formally announced their decision not to attend Tuesday's roundtable in a letter addressed to Vance and signed by 24 state attorneys general, including Dan Rayfield of Oregon and William Tong of Connecticut. We are committed to stopping fraud, waste, and abuse in all government programs across our states, and are proud of our continued partnership with the federal government in this mission, they wrote, but noted that the invitation was provided with less than one business day's notice with no agenda."

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