👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Welcome back to Congress Nerd Daily. I hope today was everything for you. The midterms are in 14 days.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
President Donald Trump announced a $25 million fraud whistleblower program this afternoon that offers cash rewards to people who help uncover fraud involving federal programs. The Justice Department will administer the initiative, which offers awards ranging from $10,000 to $30,000. Trump also described a potential 1% commission tied to uncovered fraud and said he would personally settle disputes over who deserves credit for a tip.
Tips can be submitted through fraud.gov, with payments contingent on qualifying enforcement outcomes rather than merely reporting suspected wrongdoing. The program builds on the administration’s broader anti-fraud initiative, overseen by Vice President JD Vance, that targets suspected abuses involving health care and federal benefits. Trump also presented conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley with a $10,000 reward for reporting on alleged fraud at Minnesota child care centers.
Separately, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz announced that HHS would defer another $1.2 billion in Medicaid payments for personal care services in California, citing concerns about spending growth and potential fraud. The move follows previous funding freezes that California officials have disputed, arguing that expanded home care services help older adults and people with disabilities avoid more expensive institutional care.
VIEW FROM THE HILL
Maxine Waters isn’t waiting until after the midterm elections to defend her position atop the House Financial Services Committee.
The California Democrat’s allies have rallied 16 committee members behind a letter endorsing her continued leadership in the next Congress, an early sign of support as Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) challenges her for the top Democratic spot and Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) considers entering the race.
Waters’ response has made an impression beyond the committee.
“She’s not fucking around,” a Waters ally who is not on the Financial Services Committee told me. “She came in hot with the letter. Auntie Maxine is in it to win it.”
The letter, which I’ve seen, urges House Democrats to support Waters as the committee’s leader in the 120th Congress. Signatories span the party’s ideological spectrum, including Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—along with two of the letter’s organizers: Reps. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.).
Only three committee Democrats besides Waters are absent from the list of signatories: Casten, Foster and Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.).
The endorsement signals institutional support, though it remains unclear whether every signatory has committed to voting for Waters in a future leadership election. Neither Beatty nor Gottheimer responded to requests for comment about how the letter came together or whether members were asked to pledge their votes.
