Vice President Vance to visit Bangor, Maine, speak about fraud
· UPIMay 12 (UPI) -- Vice President JD Vance will visit Bangor, Maine, on Thursday, his office and the executive director of the Maine Republican Party announced.
Vance will speak at an event at Bangor International Airport, Jason Savage of the Maine Republican Party said, the Bangor Daily News reported. The vice president is expected to speak about the Trump administration's "efforts to combat fraud," The Hill reported.
In March, the White House announced Vance as the leader of a task force against fraud in federal programs, naming Maine and other states with Democratic leaders. Maine Gov. Janet Mills has sparred verbally with President Donald Trump in the past over subjects including transgender athletes, and the administration froze federal funds to the state for a time in return.
In February, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in an X.com post that Maine needed to "clean up its act," while CMS sent a letter that Mills called "a political attack" from the president. Trump later specifically accused the state of fraud in his 2026 State of the Union speech.
In 2025, a whistleblower claimed that a Maine nonprofit was overpaid millions in Medicaid money. Mills has said she supports a full investigation.
The visit also comes during a Senate race between Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Graham Platner, the likely Democratic nominee, The Hill reported. Collins is not expected to attend Vance's speech.