President Donald Trump announced that he's starting a "tip line" for people to call in and report someone for committing government fraud, offering a hefty award of $30,000 for successful tips. He's dumping $25 million into the program to search for "waste, fraud and abuse."
According to The Wall Street Journal, Vice President JD Vance is running a government task force.
"The new $25 million program will be administered by the Justice Department and tips can be submitted through a government website. Individuals can receive up to $30,000 if a tip leads to a conviction," the Journal said.
But experts questioned whether something like that could backfire.
"I predict this won't last long -- if only because it'll lead to a flood of FOIA-able material about why DOJ refuses to prosecute Trump fraud," wrote national security analyst Marcy Wheeler.
The first check will go to right-wing content creator Nick Shirley for $10,000 for a video about fraudulent daycare centers that were already under investigation by the state and federal government. Four of the centers were already under investigation by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families.
One person remarked that this is already something done "under regulatory systems."
'How do you think most government fraud is prosecuted via whistleblowers?" they wondered.
The government had a number of fraud investigators before Trump took over on Jan. 20, 2025. The government already had substantial anti-fraud machinery outside inspectors general. That includes the FBI, the Justice Department and IRS criminal investigators. A new whistleblower fund adds an incentive to submit tips, but it does not create the government’s ability to investigate fraud from scratch.
The DOJ's Civil Fraud Division is one of the main government mechanisms that would have investigated these matters, but staffing was cut 25 percent amid DOGE layoffs.
By September 2026, The Hill reported internal DOJ charts showed substantial declines in Civil Division attorney staffing alongside rising caseloads. DOJ responded that the division had hired more than 200 attorneys since the administration began, with additional hires planned.
One person asked whether reporting fraud by White House members, including the president, would earn them a reward.
