President Donald Trump, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on January 13, 2026, stated that eliminating fraud in federal programs and properly addressing funds allegedly being “extorted” from the country by certain Democratic governors would enable the federal government to achieve a balanced budget in the near future.
Trump said: “If we get rid of fraud and do our job properly on the trillions that are being extorted out of our country from corrupt and incompetent governors like Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker and Tim Walz, we will very soon have a balanced budget.”
The remarks were part of a broader address focused on the economy, delivered during a visit to Michigan that also included a stop at a Ford plant in Dearborn. The event took place amid ongoing discussions about federal spending, waste, and alleged fraud in programs administered by states.
Trump’s comments name Governors Gavin Newsom of California, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Tim Walz of Minnesota, describing them as “corrupt and incompetent” and linking their states to significant losses of federal funds through fraud. This statement aligns with recent actions and rhetoric from the Trump administration, including investigations into alleged fraud in federally funded programs in Democratic-led states, pauses on certain funding allocations (such as over $10 billion in childcare and related funds to multiple states including California), and public criticisms of these governors in connection with scandals involving misuse of taxpayer dollars.
The timing of the Detroit speech follows a series of developments in early January 2026, where the administration has highlighted fraud in states like Minnesota (tied to issues involving Somali communities and welfare programs) and escalated scrutiny toward California and others, with claims that fraud losses run into hundreds of billions annually. Trump has repeatedly framed cracking down on such fraud as a key step toward reducing federal deficits and improving affordability for Americans.
