It’s OVER! The House Just Voted 352-72

The House handed President Donald Trump another legislative victory this week, overwhelmingly approving a measure that would permanently establish a national fraud-enforcement division inside the Department of Justice.

H.R. 9576, the National Fraud Enforcement Division Act of 2026, passed in a commanding 352–72 bipartisan vote.

Every Republican who voted supported the legislation.

The final tally included 212 Republican yes votes and zero GOP opposition. Democrats divided, with 139 supporting the bill, 72 voting against it and three abstaining.

One independent also voted for the legislation.

The overwhelming vote advances an effort to make permanent a fraud-enforcement operation the Trump administration already established administratively inside the Justice Department earlier this year.

Republican Rep. Brad Finstad of Minnesota introduced H.R. 9576 on July 2 alongside Kansas Republican Rep. Derek Schmidt.

Republican Reps. Abraham Hamadeh, Harriet Hageman and Michelle Fischbach later joined Schmidt as cosponsors.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally announced the National Fraud Enforcement Division in April as part of the administration’s broader campaign against fraud.

According to the Justice Department, the unit investigates and prosecutes schemes targeting taxpayer dollars, federal programs, businesses, nonprofit organizations and private citizens.

It also coordinates fraud-enforcement efforts with other federal agencies and state, local, tribal and territorial law-enforcement partners.

But the division currently exists through executive-branch action.

H.R. 9576 would change that.

The House-passed legislation would establish the National Fraud Enforcement Division directly under federal law, making it a permanent component of the Department of Justice under the Attorney General’s authority.

It would also establish permanent leadership for the operation through an Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement.

That official would be appointed under existing federal law and designated by the president to lead the fraud-enforcement division.

The Assistant Attorney General would perform duties prescribed by the Attorney General.

The legislation would additionally extend federal political-activity restrictions to employees of the new division, paralleling restrictions covering employees of DOJ’s Criminal Division.

Supporters pointed to the enormous amount of money the federal government potentially loses to fraud each year.

The Government Accountability Office has estimated annual federal fraud losses of between $233 billion and $521 billion.

That estimate, based on fiscal-year 2018 through 2022 data, represented approximately three to seven percent of average federal obligations.

The watchdog has repeatedly called for stronger fraud-risk management, improved analytics and better information sharing across the federal government.

Finstad said fraud investigations in his home state of Minnesota helped demonstrate the need for a permanent federal enforcement operation.

“I’m proud to see my National Fraud Enforcement Division Act of 2026 pass in the House today,” Finstad said.

He said the legislation would establish “a permanent framework to strengthen our federal fraud prosecution efforts.”

Schmidt also pointed to the financial cost imposed on taxpayers and government programs.

“Fraud targeting federal programs and taxpayers costs Americans billions,” Schmidt said after the House approved the legislation.

He described the measure as “a commonsense step” toward strengthening the federal government’s ability to investigate and prosecute fraud.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain argued that inadequate enforcement has allowed fraud schemes to flourish.

“Fraudsters have gotten rich exploiting government programs and weak enforcement for far too long,” McClain said.

McClain added that government should possess “the tools and the determination” to pursue people stealing from taxpayers.

Despite the overwhelming final vote, the legislation didn’t receive unanimous bipartisan support.

Seventy-two Democrats voted against it.

But another 139 Democrats joined every voting Republican to approve the measure, producing a 352-vote coalition and preventing the legislation from becoming a largely party-line affair.

The official House tally does not explain the individual reasons each of the 72 Democrats had for opposing the bill.

The legislation itself is relatively narrow.

It does not establish a new federal crime.

It does not change criminal sentencing rules.

It does not create a separate federal fraud court.

And the House-passed statutory language does not itself appropriate a specific amount of money for the division.

Instead, its central purpose is structural: transforming the Trump administration’s existing National Fraud Enforcement Division into a permanent component of the Justice Department established by federal statute.

The bill also creates its leadership position and applies political-activity restrictions to its employees.

The House has now overwhelmingly approved that framework.

But the legislation isn’t law yet.

H.R. 9576 must still clear the Senate before it can reach President Trump’s desk for his signature.