On Thursday, the Department of Government Efficiency revealed that three deep-blue states—California, New York, and Massachusetts—were responsible for $305 million, or 80%, of the $382 million in fraudulent unemployment payments issued since 2020.
DOGE also reported that 68% of unemployment benefits paid to parolees flagged by Customs and Border Protection as being on the terrorist watchlist or having criminal records were issued in California.
The DOGE team found that $59 million in unemployment benefits was paid to 24,500 people listed as over 115 years old. Another $254 million went to 28,000 people between the ages of 1 and 5, while $69 million was distributed to 9,700 people with birthdates more than 15 years in the future.
The report highlights one case in particular: an individual born in the year 2154—not a typo—received $41,000 in benefits.
Fox News points out that California, New York, and Massachusetts are all governed entirely by Democrats, holding what’s known as a “Democratic trifecta” — control of the state legislature and governor’s office. They also hold a “Democratic triplex,” meaning Democrats occupy the top three statewide executive positions: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
In response to Fox‘s request for a comment on the new revelations, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said, “There’s a reason for the mass exodus from Democrat-run states that have mismanaged their economies and driven residents to the nearest Republican-led state. High taxes, poor stewardship of taxpayer dollars and progressive policies continue to yield negative results, which is why Americans overwhelmingly support the work of DOGE.”
DOGE also reported this week that since 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol (under the Biden administration) has paroled over 6,300 individuals flagged on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist or with criminal records into the country with “minimal screening.” Though their paroles have now been revoked, all received Social Security numbers and could access federal benefits. Among them:
Conservative activist Ned Ryun joined Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday evening to discuss DOGE’s latest discoveries. Ryun asked, “What is going on in these blue states that they continue to give these unemployment benefits to illegals?”
“I think it’s the arguments that Elon’s been making, whether it’s the 1.3 million illegals on Medicaid, over 2 million that got social security numbers in 2024,” Ryun noted. “It’s again Democrats trying to backdoor illegals into the system to eventually turn them into voting citizens to again give Democrats political power.”
According to the DOGE clock, the team has already saved taxpayers $150 billion.
Speaking of DOGE, during Tuesday’s White House briefing, a reporter asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt about a remark Trump had made the previous week. He claimed that DOGE had “found something today that’s horrible,” and while he declined to share any details at the time, he added, “It’s horrible. You’ll find out very soon.”
“There has been a discovery,” Leavitt replied. “I hate to leave you hanging on a cliff, but I don’t want to get ahead of the president on that. But I can confirm there has been a discovery. It’s just not quite yet ready for release.”
In the meantime, I’ve come across several cryptic posts on social media that may—or may not—be related to the anticipated revelation. One that stood out was a message from independent journalist Emerald Robinson, along with a curious response from Rasmussen Reports.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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