WASHINGTON — In the longest State of the Union address to date, President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared a “war on fraud.”
The next day, senators met to denounce fraud in post-Covid federal relief programs. The Small Business Administration failed to thoroughly investigate two million individuals suspected of stealing at least $200 billion in taxpayer dollars, according to a 2025 Government Accountability Office report.
Republicans warned that the statute of limitations on these cases are approaching as early as April 6, meaning courts will soon lose the ability to prosecute those individuals. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, urged the Senate to approve her SBA Enforcement Expansion Act, which would extend these expiration dates by 10 years.
The bill has passed through the House, but the full Senate has yet to follow.
Ernst said that under the Biden administration, the Small Business Administration was running a “drive through” for Americans to fraudulently receive financial support. She praised the Trump administration and the Republican Party for making anti-fraud efforts a priority.
“I call on Democrats to stop blocking this legislation so there can be real accountability,” Ernst said. “I am grateful the current administration knows that the job is not finished.”
Democrats have not formally blocked the bill in a vote.
But Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA, pointed out that Trump has weaponized fraud issues for political gain in multiple public statements. In his State of the Union address, Trump accused the Somali community in Minnesota of stealing $19 billion taxpayer dollars.
“The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption, and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception,” Trump said in the address. “Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings us problems right here to the USA.”
While stressing that fraud must be taken seriously, Markey denounced Trump’s move to blame immigrants while staying silent on accusations such as his own alleged tax evasion. The Trump Organization was convicted of criminal tax fraud in December 2022.
“That’s hypocrisy I think that really bothers people even as they see the president up there trying to demonize a small number of people,” Markey said. “Today’s hearing is about fraud at the SBA and we know that bad actors took advantage of some of these co programs. We don’t deny that and we must hold them accountable.”
In supporting his Republican counterpart’s fraud accountability efforts, Markey did not hesitate to point out that 90% of the Small Business Administration loans were in proved in 2020 under Trump’s first administration.
Mazie Hirono, D-HI, likewise mentioned Trump in her testimony. Hirono criticized witness William Kirk, inspector general of the Small Business Association for averting her question about whether the rule of law applied to the president.
“(Trump) doesn’t think the rule of law applies to him,” Hirono said. “He thinks that the Supreme Court has given him pretty much immunity.”
Hirono questioned Kirk’s independence as inspector general, a critical part of the role especially after Trump mass removed 17 presidentially appointed inspectors general in January 2025.
Party affiliations aside, all senators present at the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing ultimately acknowledged support for investigating Covid-era fraud cases.
“Let’s go after the fraudsters,” Ernst said. “Red, blue, it doesn’t matter. Fraud is fraud.”