More than $1.3 billion in federal health care reimbursements have been halted, and 800 hospices have been suspended amid a sweeping crackdown on California hospice fraud. These efforts have been led by Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who President Donald Trump selected to lead the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Dr. Oz cited estimates suggesting roughly one-third of the nation’s hospice providers are based in Los Angeles—even though it only holds about 2.5% of the nation’s elderly population.  “Ask yourself how that’s possible … it’s not.” Oz further claimed “at least half” of the hospices in Los Angeles are frauds. “We believe that at least half of the hospices in the entire area around Los Angeles are fraudulent. … Today we announce 800 of those hospices have been suspended. 800 hospices that last year charged the federal taxpayer $1.4 billion will no longer be paid.”  The task force effort has not gone without criticism. In January 2026, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Dr. Oz’s efforts “purely political” and stressed that his team has been dealing with the fraud “for years.” “Hospice? We’ve been after that for years and years before Oz was even on the scene. This is purely political.” In 2022, California imposed a moratorium on new hospice licenses after state auditors warned that a lack of oversight allowed questionable hospices into the market.  According to a report published by Newsom in March 2026, the California Department of Public Health revoked 280 hospice licenses in the past two years.  Despite Newsom’s efforts, Vance argues that previous enforcement efforts failed to stop billions in fraudulent billing.  “The Task Force is preventing fraud before taxpayer money leaves the federal government. Agencies will now pay only when they are confident that a payment is legitimate and lawful.” Vance shared the announcement in a post on X. Alongside aggressive prosecution, the Task Force is preventing fraud before taxpayer money leaves the federal government. Agencies will now pay only when they are confident that a payment is legitimate and lawful.As a result, Trump administration agencies are now establishing…— JD Vance (@JDVance) May 13, 2026 The administration says the payment-suspension model used in California could soon expand to other health care programs nationwide as the administration intensifies its anti-fraud efforts.

The man who oversaw the most catastrophic border crisis in American history now wants to rewrite the past and make the public believe he was just following orders. In an interview with Politico on Tuesday, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas finally acknowledged that perhaps things got a tad out of control at the border on his watch. He suggested that the administration should have ramped up border security just a tiny bit sooner. If you recall, this is the same man who time and again insisted that the border was entirely “secure” despite witnessing the most porous, chaotic border in American history. He even did so during his testimony in Congress when he insisted that the unheard-of level of border crossings was really no issue at all. When Politico asked Mayorkas if he could have done something sooner, he made it seem like he may have been for tighter border security than President Joe Biden. “There were areas of disagreement within immigration policy … but I voiced my views,” he said in the most weaselly way possible. Then he said that his administration made “sensible” reforms in 2024 that “proved successful.” Mayorkas was justifiably roasted by congressional Republicans on X for his sudden pivot. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., called Mayorkas a “contemptible liar.” Mayorkas is a contemptible liar.He & Biden inherited the most secure border in U.S. history.The logical move was to do NOTHING.But they couldn’t, because that would mean acknowledging @POTUS was right. So they tore it open, invited a full-scale invasion, & gaslit the… https://t.co/6CrrVksNj2— Office of Congressman Abe Hamadeh (@RepAbeHamadeh) May 13, 2026 GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., wrote that the reversal was “too late.” Too little, too late. Americans died because of Mayorkas’ failure. That’s why we impeached him, and why his appearance at any kind of "security summit” is unserious and insensitive. https://t.co/t6GC7Rl8vz— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) May 12, 2026 Rep. Jeff Van Drew, N.J., accused Mayorkas of lying to Congress. Mayorkas repeatedly told us in committee hearings that the Biden administration was doing everything it could to secure the border.So is he admitting he lied to Congress? https://t.co/JPQalD3HHt— Congressman Jeff Van Drew (@Congressman_JVD) May 13, 2026 This criticism is all well deserved. But even with the backtracking, Mayorkas hasn’t exactly come clean. The border trouble wasn’t just a slow-moving thing that took years to get a handle on. Far from it. From the moment Biden entered office, there was an explosion of people pouring into this country by the thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions. This became almost the defining feature of his administration—other than the fact that the president appeared to be no more than a senile old nothing-in-chief led on by his radical staffers and controlled by a narcissistic former president who couldn’t let go of power. The border surge didn’t just devastate border towns, it hit nearly every city in America and completely overwhelmed local governments. And while this apocalypse was happening, Mayorkas insisted time and again that all was well, that there was nothing to worry about, everything was under control. Mayorkas even laughably said in an NPR interview in 2025 that the border was “more secure than it was at the end of 2019, the last year before the pandemic struck.” Cue the laugh track. I don’t even think even the most dedicated NPR fan or Mayorkas himself bought that line. Make no mistake, the Biden border crisis wasn’t caused by the pandemic; it wasn’t part of a “seasonal bump” as the media tried to frame it in its early stages. No, it was caused directly by the Biden administration when they reversed the effective policies of the first Trump administration and signaled that the days of effective border enforcement were over. And Mayorkas absolutely let it happen in his role as essentially the border’s national rogue prosecutor. Here he is bragging in 2021 about how the administration removed so many of the first Trump-era policies that it would “take so much time to list them.” "We have rescinded so many Trump immigration policies, it would take so much time to list them!"— Biden DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas (9/23/21)pic.twitter.com/kBVD0TFFLG— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 28, 2024 If you were even just marginally more aware than Biden was during his time in office, then you remember what happened next. Border crossings immediately exploded to a never-before-seen level. At no point did it really slow down during Biden’s tenure until the final months when electoral defeat seemed likely. Then the whole border problem came abruptly to a halt when President Donald Trump took office, a telling sign that it was executive action (or, in Mayorkas’ case, inaction) that was the root issue at stake. The question is, why is Mayorkas suddenly shifting his tune after gaslighting the American people for four years? I suspect this is part of the Democratic Party’s attempt to change the narrative around immigration and make it seem like the Biden border calamity was an aberration rather than a built-in feature of how they rule. There’s no doubt that the Biden-Mayorkas policies not only turned the American people against the administration but also made Americans far more restrictionist than they were before. Democrat politicians know that’s a huge problem, since their activist class and network of NGOs will never let the open border dream die. So, they would rather keep the focus on resisting and demonizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement rather than being straight about what they will do if they take back national power. They are counting on voters forgetting what happened and cleverly recalibrating their message to make it seem like the whole border crisis thing was simply Biden’s fault rather than a party-wide directive. They’ll go with saying that all they want to do is put a damper on those meanies in ICE and pass some “commonsense” legislation to put an unfortunate few who broke our laws under Biden on a long-term path to citizenship. What you’ll get is a bait-and-switch. We’ll get amnesty for millions and be right back to open borders mayhem that may be even more difficult to fix next time.  That’s what they’re counting on.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ensured that the abortion pill can continue to be prescribed through telemedicine and dispensed by mail, as the justices restored for now a 2023 federal rule challenged by Republican-governed Louisiana that had made access to the medication easier. The justices granted requests by two manufacturers of the abortion pill, called mifepristone, to lift a lower court’s block on the rule that was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during Democrat former President Joe Biden’s administration, while Louisiana’s legal challenge plays out. The brief order was unsigned and offered no reasoning, as is common with emergency actions by the Supreme Court. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision.  The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 had ordered the imposition of a previous federal rule that required an in-person clinician visit in order to receive mifepristone.  Drugmakers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro appealed the 5th Circuit action restricting access to mifepristone, a drug that was given FDA regulatory approval in 2000. The two companies welcomed the court’s action on Thursday. The case had put the contentious issue of abortion back in front of the justices, with the November congressional elections looming and President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans fighting to retain control of Congress. In his dissent on Thursday, Alito said that the delivery of abortion pills by mail from out-of-state providers has thwarted efforts by states like Louisiana that have sought to make abortion illegal in the wake of the Dobbs ruling. “Louisiana’s efforts have been thwarted by certain medical providers, private organizations and states that abhor laws like Louisiana’s and seek to undermine their enforcement,” Alito added.  In a separate dissent, Thomas said the federal Comstock Act prohibits the mailing of drugs intended for abortion.  The drugmakers, Thomas said, “are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes.” President Donald Trump’s administration opposed Louisiana’s legal challenge, citing an ongoing FDA review of safety regulations concerning mifepristone. The administration also argued that Louisiana does not have legal standing to pursue its case.  Abortion rights advocates have called the legal challenges to mifepristone the biggest threat to abortion access in the United States since the court’s Dobbs decision. They have also called the Trump administration’s review politically motivated and unnecessary, given decades of studies showing the safety of mifepristone, and said it could lead to tighter restrictions on the medication. The Supreme Court in 2024 unanimously rejected an initial bid by pro-life groups and doctors to roll back FDA regulations that had eased access to the drug, ruling that these plaintiffs lacked the necessary legal standing to pursue the challenge. The brand-name version of mifepristone, Mifeprex, is Danco’s only product, and GenBioPro derives most of its revenue from the ​generic version, the companies said in court filings.  Carol Tobias, president of the pro-life group National Right to Life, called Thursday’s decision deeply troubling. “Women facing unexpected pregnancies deserve real medical care and support, not a one-size-fits-all mail-order abortion system that minimizes risks and leaves women isolated during medical emergencies,” Tobias said. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a post on X that the decision “doesn’t change the fact that mail-order chemical abortion drugs are a danger to women and babies in Louisiana and across the country.” “Despite this outcome, FDA can and must immediately reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement to protect mothers from abuse and coercion,” Cassidy said. “We are deeply disappointed the Supreme Court will not respond to the harm occurring nationwide with mercy and stop the dangerous mail-order abortion drug regime. Today’s decision does not touch the merits of the case as it returns to the 5th Circuit,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. Reuters contributed to this report.

With Ohio facing scrutiny over Medicaid fraud, Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday announced a series of new prevention measures from Ohio Department of Medicaid—but critics question if it’s enough. The announcement from the governor’s office noted the initiatives are meant “to strengthen and build-upon long-standing efforts to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the Ohio Medicaid system.” The governor also touted the state’s efforts thus far and thanked the Trump administration for its cooperation. Great to see these steps taken. They are a good start. My office has highlighted issues within Ohio's Medicaid program during my time as Auditor and it’s good to see the Department starting to address these issues. The new Medicaid director appears to take these issues seriously. https://t.co/vKB4m8Mnx6— Ohio Auditor Keith Faber (@OhioAuditor) May 14, 2026 DeWine has instructed the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) to place a moratorium on new home-health care and hospice businesses seeking to be Medicaid providers, and to immediately suspend payments to “high-risk” providers whose billing practices are suspected of fraud. The department also will implement emergency rules requiring frequent revalidation of providers identified as being at higher risk of committing fraud. Finally, ODM will require GPS for all providers using Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) and will begin a rulemaking process for having live-in caregivers use the verification technology while working, as a prerequisite to receive payments. “The Ohio Department of Medicaid fully supports and appreciates Governor DeWine’s commitment to strengthening program integrity and defending Medicaid members and taxpayers,” Stephanie O’Grady, ODM’s chief communications officer, told The Daily Signal. O’Grady said the department has been “actively expanding its program integrity capabilities, including upgraded data analytics, enhanced provider screening, and new safeguards for high-risk services.” She also pointed to how the initiatives build on current efforts involving prior authorization, expanded analytics, and collaborations. “ODM will continue to act decisively whenever concerns arise and will not hesitate to remove, suspend, or refer any provider who attempts to exploit the Medicaid program,” O’Grady added. DeWine shared his announcement on X, which then drew strong reactions on the platform, including from Republican state Rep. Mike Dovilla. The only thing that has been “long in development” is persistently ignoring and denying these and similar instances of fraud, waste, and abuse and allowing cabinet officers to do the same.The executive’s duty under Article III, Section 6 of the Ohio Constitution is to “see that… https://t.co/JIRbAroS9q— Rep. Mike Dovilla (@mikedovilla) May 13, 2026 According to a report by the Columbus Dispatch, Senate President Rob McColley, Vivek Ramaswamy’s pick for lieutenant governor, also questioned the seemingly late timing of the fraud response. “We’ve received tremendous resistance from the Department of Medicaid when the Legislature’s tried to step in and tried to offer its own oversight,” McColley is quoted as saying. Other lawmakers, including Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman, noted the governor’s past vetoes of fraud legislation. Dan Tierney, spokesperson for DeWine’s office, addressed those criticisms in a statement to The Daily Signal. “Regarding the veto of the additional audit, Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber had conducted numerous audits of Ohio Medicaid since that provision was vetoed as duplicative. A second category of vetoes involved access to information that our legal team determined was prohibited by federal law,” Tierney said. “Lastly, I am familiar with the veto of the prohibition of implementing universal GPS for EVV. Absent that veto, we would have been statutorily prohibited from seeking that change during yesterday’s announcement.” Faber has been vocal about his efforts to tackle fraud and applauded Dovilla for his efforts. Though Faber’s term as auditor is ending, he is running for attorney general. Tierney referred to Faber as “very effective in auditing state agencies, including Ohio Medicaid,” and added, “we appreciate his collaborative approach in state agency audits.” Allegations of fraud have state and national implications. As of this month, U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, will be heading up a new task force to stamp out fraud. This follows President Donald Trump’s decision in March to create an anti-fraud task force headed by Vice President JD Vance. Mehek Cooke, a legal and national security analyst with The Daily Signal, also has been speaking out about Ohio Medicaid fraud, which she also addressed in a recent appearance on Fox News.

Walk through a community center in rural Ohio, a village clinic in Uganda, or a maternity ward in Honduras, and you’ll see the same quiet truth. A healthy child was usually carried by a mother who was nourished and supported. A girl who finishes school was encouraged at a kitchen table long before she was encouraged in a classroom. Long before a ministry of health writes a policy, the family has already been shaping one. That’s why, on May 15, the world recognizes the International Day of Families. It is also a reminder that women’s health cannot be separated from the strength of the family itself. A woman is always a daughter, often a sister, frequently a mother, and eventually—God willing—a grandmother. Her health is tied to the health of the people she loves most. Families do what no other institution can. They raise the next generation. They pass down language, faith, values, and the basic moral framework of a society. They are the first hospital, the first classroom, the first safe place. Culture is not mainly created in legislatures. It’s formed around family tables and then reinforced, improved, or lost over generations. Research consistently shows that children in stable families are healthier and perform better in school, women in connected families live longer, and communities with strong families recover faster after crisis. The family is the original public health system. That’s part of why the Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD) matters. The GCD, now signed by 41 nations, is one of the only major international agreements where sovereign countries publicly affirm that the family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and deserves protection from both society and the state. At a time when the family is often treated as secondary to ideological agendas, GCD nations are willing to say otherwise. That belief also has advocates here at home. Vice President JD Vance has argued that family formation is not just a private lifestyle choice but a public good. A nation that makes it harder to marry, have children, and raise them well is a nation choosing decline. His public life reflects that belief. Family is not separate from leadership but a foundational part of it. If families are foundational, governments should treat them that way in practice, not just in speeches. First, governments should adopt a Family Impact Assessment across agencies. Every major policy and budget decision should answer one simple question: Does this make it easier or harder to form, support, and strengthen healthy families? Environmental impact studies changed the way governments approach infrastructure. Family impact assessments could do the same for public policy. Second, international aid agreements should be reviewed carefully for conditions that undermine parental authority or push ideological content into schools under the banner of development. Third, parents should be treated as partners, not obstacles. Schools and clinics should involve parents in decisions concerning their minor children, except in narrow cases involving abuse. The default should not be to work around families, but through them. Government should act like a runway for families rather than a roadblock. A runway does not fly the plane or choose the destination. It simply makes flight possible and keeps the path clear. The state did not create the family, and it cannot replace it. But it can either strengthen families or make life harder for them. A serious government should at least ask which one it is doing. This week is an opportunity to celebrate families everywhere. The grandmother in Burundi raising her grandchildren after losing her daughter. The father in Guatemala walking his daughters to school every morning. The young couple in Michigan who decided, against cultural pressure, to have one more child. These people are not statistics. They are civilization in its most practical form. A society that stops protecting families eventually weakens itself. And a government that ignores the importance of strong families is ignoring one of the greatest predictors of human flourishing. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.