House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has launched an investigation into alleged widespread hospice fraud in California, and he wants Governor Gavin Newsom in the witness chair to explain how it happened on his watch.

Comer broke the news Tuesday on "Hannity," telling viewers the scale of suspected fraud in the Golden State dwarfs what investigators already uncovered in Minnesota. His message to Newsom was blunt: lawyer up.

"You could multiply what we found in Minnesota probably by 10 in California. That's how bad it is."

The numbers Comer cited speak for themselves. Eighteen percent of the entire national hospice billing budget last year came from a single county: Los Angeles. That county does not contain 18% of the American population. It's not close. Yet somehow it accounts for nearly a fifth of the country's hospice spending. That's not a statistical anomaly. That's a system being looted.

A Governor Who 'Knew It'

Comer didn't mince words about where accountability belongs: "It is rampant in California, and Gavin Newsom knew it and hasn't done a thing about it."

Lawmakers on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability are calling on Newsom to address their concerns, with Comer saying he wants the governor to testify before the committee. Comer also expressed hope that whistleblowers would come forward now that the investigation is public.

Newsom's office, predictably, responded Wednesday with a statement designed to sound like action while describing years of inadequate results. The governor's team told Fox News Digital that Newsom signed legislation in 2021 placing a moratorium on new hospice licenses and established a "multi-agency Hospice Fraud Task Force," pulling together a small alphabet soup of state agencies: CDPH, CalHHS, DHCS, DSS, and the Department of Justice.

The statement boasted that more than 280 hospice licenses have been revoked over the past two years and that an additional 300 providers remain under investigation. The state says it continues to "suspend Medi-Cal payments, revoke licenses and pursue prosecutions."

Read that again. A moratorium since 2021. A task force. Hundreds of revocations. Hundreds more under investigation. And yet the fraud is still so massive that a single county accounts for 18% of the nation's hospice billing. Four years of "decisive action," and Los Angeles County is still the hospice fraud capital of America.

If this is what success looks like under Newsom's leadership, one shudders to imagine what failure would produce.

The Journalist Newsom's Team Tried to Discredit

Much of the public pressure on this issue traces back to independent journalist Nick Shirley, who posted a series of videos revealing what he claims is fraud related to hospice care in California. In his latest videos, Shirley and his team visited several locations in California where he said daycare and hospice fraud was occurring.

Rather than welcoming the scrutiny, Newsom's press office pushed back, reportedly posting a fictionalized photo of Shirley with cameras asking to see children. The move was designed to recast an investigative journalist exposing government failure as the problem, rather than the fraud itself.

Shirley responded on X:

"You do realize I'm trying to help America eliminate fraud and waste right? No need to try and make me look like the bad guy for exposing fraud."

He followed up with a line that captures the public mood perfectly: "People are over it. Start working for the people and not against them."

That exchange tells you everything about how Sacramento operates. A journalist uncovers evidence of systemic fraud draining public resources. The governor's response is not to thank him, not to launch a deeper inquiry, but to go after the messenger. It's a reflex at this point.

California's Fraud Problem Runs Deeper Than Hospice

This isn't an isolated episode. California is also staring down a $21 billion unemployment debt tied to its own fraud concerns, significant enough that the Labor Department has deployed a "strike team" to the state. Hospice fraud is one chapter in a much longer story about a state government that either cannot or will not protect taxpayer money.

The pattern is consistent:

• Fraud is exposed by outside actors, whether journalists, federal investigators, or whistleblowers.
• Sacramento announces a task force, a moratorium, or a new initiative.
• The fraud continues at a staggering scale.
• State officials point to their own announcements as evidence of leadership.

The moratorium on new hospice licenses has been in effect since 2021. The fraud task force exists. Licenses get revoked. And yet the numbers Comer cited suggest the bleeding hasn't stopped. Process is not the same as results. California has plenty of the former and precious little of the latter.

What Comes Next

Comer now holds subpoena power and a committee mandate. If Newsom refuses to testify, it won't be a good look for a governor who spent years positioning himself as a national figure ready for higher office. If he does testify, he'll have to explain why four years of supposed action left the problem this severe.

Either way, the federal spotlight is now fixed on California. Whistleblowers have an open invitation. The investigative machinery of the House Oversight Committee is turning.

Eighteen percent of the nation's hospice billing. One county. One governor says he handled it.