Vance says fraud task force found 186,000 dead people collecting SNAP benefits

Vance traveled to Des Moines to appear at an event for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), a vulnerable member of the House GOP majority. During his remarks, Vance talked about the fraud task force that 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.”

Vance joked that the “fake news media” would misrepresent his remarks as wanting to “take away food stamps.”