Vice President JD Vance said he plans to stump for Paul LePage when he comes to Bangor on Thursday.

At a press conference in Washington, D.C. announcing antifraud efforts, Vance declined to preview any possible policy announcements Wednesday, but said he plans to support the former two-term Republican governor who is seeking the 2nd District seat in Congress.

“I’m looking forward to it — it’s a beautiful time of the year to be in the state of Maine,” Vance said. “We’re going to campaign a little bit with Paul LePage and talk about the fraud efforts we have going on and talk about a few other things as well.”

LePage, who made welfare reform a centerpiece of his eight years in office, once said he was “Donald Trump before Donald Trump.” In 2017, two years before his time in the Blaine House ended, he tried to get two different jobs in the first Trump administration. Trump has endorsed LePage in his run for Congress.

Vance is traveling to Bangor on Thursday for an event near the Bangor International Airport.

Maine Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Dingman said in a written statement that the Trump administration’s actions and policies have driven up costs and hurt working families.

“Mainers are feeling the consequences of the Trump-Vance administration every day,” Dingman said. “By welcoming and celebrating JD Vance’s visit, Republican candidates up and down the ballot are tying themselves to the MAGA agenda that’s driving up costs and hurting Maine families. Maine voters won’t forget it in November.”

The visit will likely trigger protests.

Progressive groups, including Indivisible Bangor, the Maine People’s Alliance and Activate Maine are planning an event at 9:30 a.m. calling for the end of hostilities against Iran and an end to the administration’s immigration crackdown. Speakers are expected to include Democrats running for Congress and the Blaine House.

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who is facing a tough reelection battle this fall, will not appear with Vance. Her office said she will be in Washington, D.C., where the Senate is in session this week.

A spokesperson for LePage said he was looking forward to the event.

“Governor LePage has a track record of tackling welfare fraud and misuse from his time as governor,” Brent Littlefield said in a written statement. “He looks forward to having the Vice President in Maine to discuss efforts to deal with the apparent government benefits fraud which now seems to be running rampant in our state.”

Trump’s administration has identified Maine as a possible fraud hotspot. But neither Vance nor other administration officials mentioned any specific actions against Maine at Wednesday’s press conference.

Vance was tapped by Trump earlier this year to lead a “whole government” approach to tackling suspected fraud in the country’s Medicaid and Medicare programs.

On Wednesday, Vance announced that the administration is planning to withhold about $1.3 billion in funding from California because of fraud concerns. He also singled out New York and Hawaii as states not doing enough about fraud, but he did not mention Maine.

The administration is also sending letters to officials in all 50 states requesting details on how they are aggressively fighting healthcare fraud. States that fail to show strong antifraud work could lose federal funding.

Gov. Janet Mills’ administration has already defended its fraud-fighting efforts in a formal response to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The agency questioned Maine officials earlier this year after the U.S. Office of Inspector General accused the state of making at least $45.6 million in improper payments for autism support services.

Vance acknowledged Mills’ response when asked by a reporter, but said “we’d love to have a better conversation, a better relationship, and work very deliberately on this question of fraud.”

The vice president also announced a six-month nationwide moratorium on new home healthcare agencies and hospices.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said a national moratorium is needed because of the extent of suspected fraud in California.

Oz said a third of the nation’s home hospice care agencies are located in Los Angeles, but he believes half are fraudulent. The administration suspended the licenses of over 800 groups and has heard from less than 20 questioning the move, he said.

A national moratorium, Oz said, would prevent bad actors from moving to nearby states.