US President Donald John Trump recently said: “We’re fighting wars. It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, childcare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things.”

Although the announcement by the US President is not unexpected, it is certainly alarming. In January 2026, the Trump Administration announced that it would withhold at least USD 2.4 billion in childcare funding, as well as billions in other programmes that support children and families from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York.

Later, several Provincial Governments filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration, while a number of judges issued stay orders against this decision of the US Government. One of those judges even issued a stay order against the decision in four states. At that time, it seemed that the President would back down from his decision under pressure. However, Trump did not do so. Instead, he said that it would not be possible for his government to take care of daycare as it was “fighting wars“. The President added that it was the responsibility of states to fund daycare, as well as other services, like Medicare and Medicaid.

Childcare subsidies in the US are crucial for many families, particularly those with low incomes, to manage high costs and enable parental employment. These public investments, including direct subsidies and tax incentives, increase the purchasing power of households, improve their access to quality care, apart from improving children’s school readiness and social development. This programme is operational in all 50 states of the US and a significant portion of the funding comes from the Federal Government.

According to the 2021 census, 10.5 million children in the US are eligible for this grant. In reality, only 1.8 million children (or about 15%), who are well below the poverty line, receive it. If this grant is abruptly discontinued, their families will be unable to go to work as they will have no one to look after their children. They will also face financial hardship. Even various government-aided childcare organisations cannot operate without financial aid.

Commenting on the issue, Susan Gale Perry, the CEO of the Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA, the leading voice on childcare issues), said that the Trump Administration‘s move to discontinue the childcare grant, citing allegations of financial irregularities, was an unfortunate one. “In reality, every stage of this grant is highly regulated, and every organisation undergoes rigorous evaluation. This process has been in place for a long time. There is absolutely no justification for casting doubt upon this grant system anew,” she added.

Currently, millions of families are facing profound instability and confusion in the US. They are apprehensive about the future of their children. These families are looking towards the judiciary. It is up to the judiciary to stop the President.

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das