FIRST ON FOX: The Vance-led anti-fraud task force and the General Services Administration uncovered more than $1.2 billion in suspected COVID-era contract fraud as the White House anti-fraud task force continues its crackdown across the country.

The General Services Administration, along with the Department of Health and Human Services, found that COVID emergency contracting continued after the pandemic emergency officially ended. The agencies also revealed that millions of vaccine contracts were awarded even after the pandemic ended under the Biden administration.

«The COVID emergency ended over three years ago, yet fraudsters continue to weaponize outdated emergency contracts to abuse taxpayer dollars,» GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst told Digital in a statement. «Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Vice President Vance’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, GSA uncovered $1.22 billion in suspected fraud across five HHS COVID-era contracts.»

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«GSA will continue to work with the Vice President’s task force to stop improper payments, refer suspected fraud to law enforcement, and fight to recover every dollar,» he added.

While the funding uncovered is not currently tied to criminal charges for contractors, the agencies have pinpointed a significant amount of taxpayer dollars that may have otherwise been distributed for COVID vaccines and other pandemic-related services long after the national emergency ended.

GSA estimates that an estimated 93% of the funding for the contracts has not yet been distributed to vendors, while roughly 6.78% has already been expended. The agency has since suspended payments to contractors as part of the initiative.

«The COVID emergency ended in 2023. The emergency contract advantage didn’t — until now.»

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White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Executive Director Scott Brady told Digital in a statement. «GSA’s review uncovered $1.22 billion in suspected fraud and stopped $41 million more across five HHS COVID-era contracts that kept the emergency label alive long after the emergency was gone.»

Brady said that allocated emergency funding «is a privilege, not a blank check,» while describing contractors who received funding to combat the pandemic at the time as «honest.» He characterized any funding that was distributed beyond the emergency as a «free pass.»

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The announcement comes after the General Services Administration found more than $13 billion in suspected contractor fraud in late August, and the Trump administration has declared a total of more than $245.7 billion has been uncovered since the president took office and that it has prevented an annualized $62.9 billion in fraudulent payments.

The White House anti-fraud task force also says that more than $59.1 billion in indictments and settlements are being enforced.

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The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, has uncovered the most significant amount of fraud at $96.4 billion.

As for the beneficiaries of fraudulent activity, the Trump administration has identified some foreign nationals who have infiltrated the federal contracting system and acquired funds while still residing in their home countries.

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Earlier this month the FBI released a «Most Wanted» list highlighting alleged fraud suspects as the administration continues its broader crackdown on fraud. Officials say the involvement of foreign nationals in multiple schemes has heightened concerns about overseas actors exploiting U.S. government programs.

Among those named is Onur Simsek, a Turkish national whom the FBI believes is living in Turkey. Prosecutors accuse Simsek of leading a defense procurement fraud scheme that secured U.S. military contracts by falsely certifying Turkish-made parts as tested and qualified, potentially rendering critical military equipment inoperable.

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Federal authorities allege Simsek is one of a number of foreign nationals who have infiltrated and exploited U.S. federal funds to obtain taxpayer funds.

In an interview with Digital last month, Vice President JD Vance said authorities have observed what he described as a «clear pattern» in some fraud cases involving immigrant communities.

«You definitely see patterns in certain communities,» Vance said. «It’ll start as maybe one Somali person takes advantage of the system, or realizes you don’t even have to have children to get money from these programs. You could just claim that you have children, there’s no verification. Then, word spreads like wildfire, and that program gets tapped into by the same members of that community.»

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NEW YORK — Ecuador has emerged as a key regional ally in President Donald Trump’s expanding crackdown on drug cartels and narcoterrorism, with U.S. and Ecuadorian forces working side by side to intercept narcotics shipments and dismantle transnational criminal networks, the country’s foreign minister told Digital.

Foreign Minister Roberto Kury said the increasingly close cooperation with Washington has delivered «a lot of positive results» in recent months, pointing specifically to drug shipments uncovered through U.S. intelligence and joint work on the ground.

«There is an intelligence and cooperation from the United States, but there is also always the presence of Ecuadorian military or police. They work together,» Kury told Digital in an interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly this week.

For Ecuador, the stakes are enormous. Roughly 70% of the world’s cocaine passes through Ecuadorian ports, an FBI official told lawmakers earlier this year, according to the Congressional Research Service, as criminal groups battle for control of trafficking routes carrying cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru to markets abroad.

Meanwhile, Kury noted: «Most of the drugs go to the United States. So that’s why the United States shares the problem.»

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For the U.S., Ecuador has become a proving ground for an early priority laid out in Trump’s foreign policy: using American military power against threats closer to home as Washington turns its attention back toward the Western Hemisphere.

The explosion in the drug trade has transformed the small South American country. Once considered one of Latin America’s safer countries, Ecuador is now at the frontline of the region’s cartel fight, fueling a surge in violence that prompted President Daniel Noboa to declare an «internal armed conflict» against criminal groups and deploy the military against them.

«We have found many drugs and shipments through this cooperation, so it’s very positive for Ecuador,» Kury said of the partnership with the U.S.

Asked whether U.S. forces were participating directly in operations against cartels rather than limiting their role to intelligence and training, Kury was unequivocal about the joint nature of the effort, noting, «They work together with our local authorities.»

But Kury stopped short of giving Washington carte blanche to use military force inside Ecuador when asked whether his government would permit the U.S. to strike a cartel target on Ecuadorian soil.

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«Ecuador has our sovereignty, and they respect that sovereignty,» Kury said, adding that Quito welcomes U.S. involvement «as long as we work together, aligned with our local military and our local police.»

Kury’s comments come as Ecuador has emerged as a testing ground for the Trump administration’s effort to take the fight against Latin American drug cartels beyond maritime interdictions and into partnered military operations on land.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has praised Ecuador as the U.S.’s most «aggressive» partner in its Western Hemisphere crackdown.

He told reporters during a recent trip to Quito that U.S. and Ecuadorian «elite forces» from both countries «are working jointly on a day-to-day basis in a way that has no precedent in order to try to dismantle these terrorist organizations.»

The expanding partnership comes as Ecuador battles a cocaine trade that President Noboa has estimated at roughly $30 billion a year. The country is looking to Washington for additional help taking on the criminal organizations behind the explosion.

Noboa said this week that his government asks the U.S. for help «every day» as Ecuador seeks to choke off a drug trade that has fueled years of violence and transformed the once relatively peaceful South American nation into a key front in the regional fight against organized crime.

Kury said Ecuador and other countries in the region need more than funding from Washington as criminal groups increasingly operate across national borders.

«Our countries in Latin America have the problem that we need support,» Kury said. «We need not only monetary support but also intelligence, technical cooperation.»

«That’s why we have the Shield of the Americas,» he added, pointing to the U.S.-led regional initiative against cartels. «I think that the whole Latin American continent should work together.»

The growing relationship extends beyond the cartel fight: Ecuador has also agreed to accept some third-country nationals deported from the U.S., part of the Trump administration’s effort to enlist regional partners in carrying out its immigration agenda.

Kury told Digital there are limits and «explicit rules» governing the arrangement, describing Ecuador as a temporary stop rather than the final destination for those sent there.

«The deported people come to Ecuador for a few hours, one day, two days, and they are then deported back to their country of origin,» Kury said. «So it’s the way to cooperate, and that’s how we support each other, each country.»

Kury emphasized that Quito wants the expanding relationship with Washington to translate into greater U.S. investment and trade in Ecuador.

«The United States is the main trade partner of Ecuador,» he said, pointing to opportunities for American investment in mining, oil and gas, energy, tourism and agriculture. «We look not only [for] cooperation in the security side, but we also look to build more jobs in our country, to bring investment from the United States.»

The U.S. is Ecuador’s largest trading partner, with U.S. exports to the country totaling $7.7 billion in 2024 and accounting for 28% of Ecuador’s imports, according to the Commerce Department. Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as its currency but does not have a free trade agreement with Washington.

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UNITED NATIONS – Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša accused the United Nations of applying double standards to global conflicts, arguing that the international community’s focus on Gaza has overshadowed Russia’s war in Ukraine and other humanitarian crises, while revealing that President Donald Trump has promised to visit Slovenia, the homeland of first lady Melania Trump.

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Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Janša said the international body must give greater attention to conflicts beyond the Middle East rather than concentrating its diplomatic efforts on a single crisis.

«We have to get rid of double standards,» Janša said, calling for the U.N. to apply its available diplomatic and security tools equally instead of putting its attention, money and energy into one conflict while neglecting others.

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Right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) leader Janez Janša addresses the media after his investiture vote as Slovenia’s Prime Minister at the National Assembly in Ljubljana on May 22, 2026. (Jure Makovec / AFP via Getty Images)

The Slovenian leader said he was struck by how extensively Gaza dominated speeches during the opening of the General Assembly, while Ukraine, a war much closer to his country’s borders, received comparatively less attention.

For Slovenia and other European countries, he said, Russia’s invasion represents an immediate security threat, with no clear indication that Moscow is prepared to negotiate an end to the fighting.

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Janša argued that the U.N. was established to prevent such conflicts and should not allow its attention to be consumed by one region.

He also pointed to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and other humanitarian crises, arguing that the international body must recognize that different countries face different security and humanitarian challenges.

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An office building burns following a Russian drone attack in central Odesa, Ukraine, on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Michael Shtekel/AP)

Janša said he intends to raise the issue during his own address to the General Assembly, scheduled for Thursday.

His criticism comes as Slovenia undergoes a significant shift in its foreign policy, particularly toward Israel.

Under the previous government of Prime Minister Robert Golob, Slovenia recognized Palestinian statehood in June 2024 and imposed an arms embargo on Israel in July 2025. The government defended those measures as necessary to protect Palestinian civilians and uphold international law.

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Since returning to power, Janša has sought to strengthen Slovenia’s relationship with Israel, marking a shift from the previous government’s more critical approach toward the Jewish state.

Earlier this month, Israel opened its first resident embassy in Slovenia, while Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited the country for talks aimed at expanding political and economic cooperation. The two governments also signed a cooperation program covering education, science, culture, youth and sports through 2030.

Janša described his government’s approach as a return to the traditionally good relations between the two countries rather than a dramatic diplomatic realignment.

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US-BACKED ISRAEL-MOROCCO DEAL DEEPENS ABRAHAM ACCORDS AMID GROWING REGIONAL THREATS

President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City in this handout released September 22, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

He also criticized European governments that, in his view, have failed to recognize the broader strategic connections between Iran, Russia and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Janša said he has supported the Iranian opposition for decades and argued that lasting peace in the Middle East would remain elusive without political change in Tehran.

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He accused some European governments of applying inconsistent standards by supporting Ukraine while taking positions toward Iran that he believes fail to account for Tehran’s relationship with Moscow, citing Ireland and Spain as well as Slovenia under the previous government before this year’s change in leadership.

Janša also suggested that some European leaders have used the Palestinian issue to divert public attention from domestic economic and political problems, particularly ahead of elections.

The prime minister’s visit to New York also provided an opportunity to strengthen Slovenia’s relationship with Washington, a relationship that carries a personal dimension because of the country’s most prominent American connection: First Lady Melania Trump.

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Born in Slovenia in 1970, Melania Trump grew up in the town of Sevnica before moving to the United States and becoming the nation’s second foreign-born first lady.

The prime minister praised Melania Trump’s work on initiatives for children, describing her role in the White House as a source of pride for many Slovenians. He said his wife met the first lady for the first time on Tuesday and that he also spoke briefly with President Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive for the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) on September 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

According to Janša, he invited Trump to visit Slovenia and received a positive response. «He promised he’ll come,» Janša told Fox News Digital.

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Fox News Digital’s Tyler Speicher contributed to this report.

Efrat (Effie) Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital with more than 15 years of experience covering conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability. She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events. 

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Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting the war in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders. She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition. Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in political science.

united nations, world, general assembly, foreign affairs, melania trump