Vice President JD Vance arrived ready to flex for President Donald Trump, carrying the latest White House assignment with visible confidence and the steady tone of someone eager to prove he could execute without hesitation. The rollout was meant to project strength and control. Instead, it veered . A straightforward question about where presidential power actually ends forced Vance into an answer that the internet quickly began replaying and dissecting. Vice President JD Vance, alongside Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz, speaks about combatting fraud, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, DC, on February 25, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images) At the center of the moment was the administration’s decision to indefinitely pause $259 million in federal Medicaid funds to Minnesota, a Democratic-led state that has long clashed with Trump. Vance framed the freeze as routine enforcement tied to alleged fraud, insisting it was not something the administration wanted to do. The move came less than a day after Trump publicly elevated Vance during his State of the Union address, assigning him to spearhead a sweeping “war on fraud.” “He’ll get it done,” Trump said, suggesting the effort could even balance the budget overnight. ‘My God, He’s a Mess!’: Trump Lets the Truth Slip for One Brutal Second, Exposes the Humiliation He Swears Isn’t There — Then Spirals and Throws Out a Fake Story on the Spot Within hours, Minnesota became the opening test case. The funding freeze immediately raised questions about executive authority and whether the White House was stretching federal leverage to make a political point. Standing beside Healthcare Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz at the news conference, Vance appeared unaware that neither of them was persuading the public the move wasn’t vindictive. “We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligation seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money,” he said. When an NBC News reporter asked Vance to explain the legal authority for pausing funds that Congress had already approved, it wasn’t a trick question. It was foundational — the kind of separation-of-powers basics most law students encounter early. Vance didn’t hedge. He said he was “quite confident” the administration could do it. View on Threads “We’re the ones who spend this money. Congress appropriates it. We’re the ones who actually make sure this goes to the people it ought to go to,” he said. “And inherent in that is making sure that it only goes to the people that Congress says that it should go to. We shouldn’t be sending money to fraudsters.” It was delivered as a straightforward explanation. But to many watching, it sounded less like clarity and more like someone skipping past a core principle — the kind that isn’t supposed to be optional. Online, critics accused Vance of flouting basic constitutional law. “That is 100% not true. The executive branch does not have control over funding. This is absolutely illegal. They don’t give a sh-t, but it is illegal,” one post read.  Another mocked Vance’s credentials: “How did he get his law degree? From saving up coupons from breakfast cereal packets?” Others piled on, “Nope, that’s not correct JD. Hey Yale, come and get your boy, he might need some remedial classes.” Vance tried to frame himself as a reluctant enforcer. “I’d reiterate, we don’t want to do this,” he said. “We don’t want to be in a situation where the state of Minnesota is being so careless with federal tax dollars that we have to turn the screws on them a little bit so that they take this fraud seriously.”  View on Threads That framing, however, only seemed to invite harsher reactions as Oz stepped in to spell out the numbers while also announcing a “6 month national moratorium blocking all new enrollments for durable medical equipment — prosthesis, orthotics — supplies across the board.” Oz said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had been notified that his state would not receive a $259 million Medicaid reimbursement this month, a figure drawn from a three-month audit in early 2025. “We will give them the money, but we’re going to hold it and only release it after they propose an act on a comprehensive corrective action plan to solve the problem,” Oz said. “If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems, the state will rack up a billion dollars of deferred payments this year.” Walz, he added, has 60 days to respond. That explanation sharpened the sense among critics that the administration was using money as a cudgel.  This has nothing to do with fraud. The agents Trump allegedly sent to investigate fraud are shooting protesters and arresting children. His DOJ is gutting the U.S. Attorney’s Office and crippling their ability to prosecute fraud. And every week Trump pardons another fraudster. https://t.co/DKRDgBykRu— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) February 25, 2026 “Blackmail in broad daylight,” one online reaction said.  Walz responded on X later Wednesday, rejecting the premise of the crackdown altogether. “This has nothing to do with fraud,” he wrote.  “The agents Trump allegedly sent to investigate fraud are shooting protesters and arresting children. His DOJ is gutting the U.S. Attorney’s Office and crippling their ability to prosecute fraud. And every week Trump pardons another fraudster.” He accused Trump of weaponizing the federal government and warned, “These cuts will be devastating for veterans, families with young kids, folks with disabilities, and working people across our state.” Oz argued Minnesota could weather the pause using its rainy-day fund. “This is not a problem with the people of Minnesota, it’s a problem with the leadership of Minnesota and other states who do not take Medicaid preservation seriously,” he said, urging worried providers to “please call your governor.” For Minnesotans, that reassurance rang hollow.  “ILLEGAL AF. I think Minnesota has every reason to send a huge ‘F**K YOU’ in lieu of paying federal taxes at this point,” one post read.  Some commenters tied the move to Trump’s failed immigration enforcement.  “Punishing us is a game to them – cuz we hurt their feelings by not rolling over for ICE to f**K us.” ‘That Is 100% Not True’: JD Vance Shows Off for Trump, Gets Asked Where Presidential Power Ends — and His Stunning Answer Blows Up the Room ...read more read less