On January 8, 2026, the White House announced the establishment of a new division of the Department of Justice: The Division for National Fraud Enforcement. In a White House Fact Sheet, the Trump Administration stated that the new division will “combat the rampant and pervasive problem of fraud in the United States,” and “enforce the Federal criminal and civil laws against fraud targeting Federal government programs, Federally funded benefits, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens nationwide.”
The division will be headed by a Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General, who will “be responsible for leading the Department’s efforts to investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government, Federally funded programs, and private citizens.” This announcement expands upon a number of Trump Administration efforts related to the expanded use of the False Claims Act in connection with increased enforcement in areas including DEI initiatives, healthcare fraud, and cybersecurity issues, among other issues. The ultimate effect of this announcement remains yet-to-be-seen. To that end, it is unclear who at the Department of Justice will be appointed to the newly established Assistant Attorney General role, as well as who the White House will liaise with this newly-established position. While these roles remain open, the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, has already promised a “swift confirmation” of whomever will sit in this role, recognizing the importance of anti-fraud measures to the Administration and government more broadly.[1]
It is unclear how the new Assistant Attorney General role will affect the existing Department of Justice structure, namely whether this new role will move civil fraud enforcement efforts outside of the Civil Frauds Section, which has historically supervised fraud investigations within DOJ or otherwise elevate such actions from a top-level perspective. Moreover, these actions do not, at present, otherwise affect DOJ’s criminal enforcement efforts, which include a fraud section currently headed by Lorinda Laryea, or other civil or administrative (i.e., agency) enforcement activities. And, to that end, the ninety-three Offices of the United States Attorneys prosecute and civilly enforce civil fraud in each respective jurisdiction, subject to main Justice oversight. Stated differently, the ultimate effect of this effort is not yet clear and will be subject to significant adjustment, interpretation, and adjustment from an executive and legislative oversight standpoint from both the main DOJ and local U.S. Attorney’s office perspectives.
While the creation of the new division accompanied no change in law, it may signal increased white-collar enforcement mirroring the Administration’s policy priorities. In its announcement, the White House stated that “[t]he new Assistant Attorney General will also help develop and set national enforcement priorities, and propose legislative and regulatory reforms.”
Specifically, with Vice President Vance’s statement that the new division will be “run out of the White House,” it is likely that these enhanced efforts will target conduct linked to both activities and entities that are linked to alleged fraud against the government in key policy arenas. It is also plausible that the new senior-level supervision and oversight activities will be more responsive to shifts in policy priorities or political developments, both at present and under future policy considerations.
[1] CBS News, Vance Says Trump administration creating assistant attorney general position to investigate fraud (Jan. 8, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vance-trump-assistant-attorney-general-investigate-fraud/.
