Senate Democrats were absent from a Wednesday hearing focused on allegations of widespread fraud involving government programs and election-related activity.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held the hearing without any Democratic members in attendance, according to a post shared on X. The witnesses included journalist Nick Shirley and activist journalist James O’Keefe, both of whom argued that fraud has become easier to uncover because it is so common and often receives little scrutiny.
Shirley, who gained attention for reporting on alleged social-service fraud in Minnesota, told the committee that the problem extends far beyond a single state or program.
“Fraud is so rampant in the United States that I could go to all 50 states and uncover millions of tax dollars being defrauded, wasted and abused,” he said in his prepared testimony.
He urged Congress to take stronger steps to protect public money, arguing that lawmakers have failed to act with the urgency the situation requires.
“People wonder how fraud became so rampant in the United States,” Shirley said. “It is because no one ever looked before.”
He pointed to California’s Medicaid program as one example. According to Shirley, spending in the program increased from $108 billion to $222 billion even though enrollment rose by less than 1 percent. He claimed that the system has become filled with fraud and waste, placing even greater pressure on the state’s finances.
Shirley also described alleged abuse involving government-funded adult day care centers in New York City. He said some facilities receive public money for elderly participants to take part in activities such as ping pong and tai chi. He further alleged that an unrealistic number of patients were enrolled and that some participants received kickbacks for attending or referring others.
His testimony also moved beyond social programs and into election-related concerns.
Shirley cited a case in California in which a dog was reportedly registered and used to cast ballots in two elections before the owner came forward. He also referred to previous allegations that homeless people were paid in connection with voting activities.
O’Keefe testified about his own undercover reporting in California, including alleged fraud involving the collection of signatures needed to place candidates on the ballot.
“The question before this Committee is not whether this fraud exists,” O’Keefe said in his prepared remarks. “The question is why the incentives allow it to flourish. There is money in fraud. There is no money in exposing the fraud.”
He argued that political leaders regularly speak about democracy, equal treatment under the law and the importance of preventing voter disenfranchisement, but those promises mean little when violations are ignored.
“If those principles are not enforced when they are violated in broad daylight, they are not principles at all,” he said. “They are slogans.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who chairs the committee, also highlighted the scale of the allegations. In one example posted on X, Paul said a single adult day care facility with 7,000 patients had billed the government $12 million.
He suggested that the case could represent only a small portion of the overall problem.
The testimony painted a troubling picture of public programs that may be vulnerable to abuse, weak oversight and financial incentives that reward dishonest behavior. The absence of Senate Democrats also became part of the story, with critics questioning why they chose not to attend a hearing centered on the misuse of taxpayer money.