Vice President J.D. Vance told the crowd at a rally in Iowa on Tuesday that his fraud task force found 186,000 dead individuals collecting benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Vance, who had traveled to Des Moines to appear at an event for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), talked about the fraud task force President Donald Trump asked him to lead.
“People have asked me, ‘Is that a hard job?’” Vance told the audience. “And I say, ‘Well, let me think. Finding fraud in the federal government, it’s kind of like fishing in a barrel with dynamite.’”
Vance said he is “shocked every single day by the things” the task force has uncovered.
“Brooke [Rollins] has found out that we’ve got 355,000 people on SNAP benefits receiving double benefits, that we’ve got 186,000 dead people getting SNAP benefits,” Vance said, referring to the agriculture secretary. “186,000 dead Americans getting food stamps right now.”
READ: ‘JD Vance is finished?’: Why X is blowing up over the vice president (April 10, 2026)
Vance also said that the “fake news media” would misrepresent his remarks as wanting to “take away food stamps.”
“That’s what they’re going to say. I actually think that we should take food stamps away from dead people. I’m guilty of that,” Vance said.
Vance also said “There are people who have LAMBORGHINIS who currently receive SNAP benefits… You know, I’m a pretty conservative guy, but I would think that like 95% of the USA would agree that if you are wealthy enough to afford a Lamborghini, then you are wealthy enough to NOT receive SNAP benefits from the American people.”
READ: The diplomatic shift: Why JD Vance’s possible Pakistan mission signals a turning point in the Iran conflict (March 27, 2026)
Last month, Trump named Vance as “fraud czar,” who would be responsible for investigating fraud, particularly in Democrat-run states. Earlier, Trump had signed an executive order putting Vance in charge of what Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called “anti-fraud task force” which will “investigate fraud across the country.” Trump had also previously charged Vance with leading administration efforts to investigate fraud in Minnesota.
The task force was charged with coordinating a comprehensive strategy to stop fraud, waste, and abuse across Federal benefit programs, including housing, food, medical care, and cash assistance administered with State and local partners, in order to protect these benefits for eligible Americans. A White House fact sheet describing the order mentioned California, Illinois, New York, Maine and Colorado as U.S. states with “insufficient” fraud oversight.