Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson accused Democratic governors Thursday of "trying to protect the fraudsters" by refusing to provide the Trump administration with SNAP recipient data, arguing their resistance is hindering efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse in federally funded benefit programs."A lot of the red states are cooperating.The blue states are not," Ferguson told "America's Newsroom.""I don't know what else to infer from the fact that they're not cooperating other than trying to protect the fraudsters, and I don't know what to infer from that other than the Democrats are in on this, and I think it's a huge problem."STOLEN IDS SOLD FOR ‘HAPPY MEAL’ PRICES FUEL BILLIONS IN US BENEFIT FRAUDChairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Andrew Ferguson speaks during the Semafor World Economy Summit 2025 at Conrad Washington on April 23, 2025.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)Ferguson, who is helping lead the charge in the Trump administration's broader effort to unmask and eliminate systemic fraud in government-funded programs, called out blue-state governors for their refusal to hand over the requested information, including information identifying benefit recipients.Ferguson said programs like SNAP, which are administered by states but funded by the federal government, are particularly under the microscope."The federal government, at this point, doesn't have good insight into who actually receives this money, so we've been asking the states, ‘Work with us here, show us where the money is going so that we can ensure that federal taxpayer dollars are not going to the worst people in the world...’" he said.TOP FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS CALIFORNIA A 'FRAUDSTER'S PARADISE,' WARNS STATE OFFICIALS COULD FACE CHARGESA sign at a supermarket entrance reading "We Welcome EBT Customers" alongside a SNAP logo.(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)"You've got to ask why Democrat governors would want to prevent us from finding the fraudsters, an...