Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) questioned Colin McDonald, the new Assistant Attorney General for Fraud Enforcement, during his confirmation hearing this week, calling him the new "fraud czar."
Sharing footage of the hearing on X, Senator Moody informed that 10% of the federal budget is allegedly "lost to fraud." "@POTUS, @SenJudiciaryGOP, and I are laser-focused on mitigating abuse of the American taxpayer and their hard-earned money. Time for a fraud czar," she wrote.
In the hearing, Sen. Moody questioned why Democrats are opposed to the creation of the new division within the Department of Justice (DOJ), accusing them of questioning, "There has always been fraud, why are we talking about it now?" and "Why are we restructuring?"
The Florida Senator noted that this important because "we have never seen the magnitude of this level of fraud."
McDonald mistakenly said his new division is interested in "cutting down the mountain of debt," but he quickly corrected himself to say "mountain of fraud." Moody implied that they are effectively one and the same, as supposed fraudulent payouts allegedly exceed "the entire budget of the State of Florida, the third-largest state in the nation. It now exceeds most federal agencies and departments."
McDonald could not verify the exact dollar amount of taxpayer funds that are used fraudulently, but he mentioned that "it sure seems like it is a huge number."
"If, in fact, the goal is to make sure that taxpayer money is being used in a way that is responsible and accountable to we the people, restructuring the DOJ when fraud has now eclipsed 10% of our federal outlay according to Secretary [Scott] Bessent, that seems to be a no-brainer," Senator Moody argued.
