How Trump's budget would hit America's poorest families hardest
New details in a massive White House document spanning more than 1,200 pages outline stark cuts to programs that help feed and house millions of children, which critics fear will have dangerous consequences for the nation's most vulnerable households.
Trump's 2026 budget proposal was released with little fanfare on Friday evening as Congress prepares to vote on more than a dozen spending measures. It will ultimately be up to lawmakers to decide how far those cuts stretch.
But the president wants to shed $163 billion in non-defense spending from the nation's 2026 budget.
That includes cutting down $12 billion from education programs and more than $60 billion from agencies supporting housing and food access for women and children — from slashing rental assistance for poor families to ending the only federal program that supports state-level preschool development.
The White House proposes significantly rolling back support for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which supports more than 6.7 million people, including 1.5 million pregnant and post-partum mothers and more than 5 million children under age 5.
Under Trump's proposal, breastfeeding mothers receiving WIC assistance would see their monthly benefits plummet from $54 to just $13, while support for children would drop from $27 to $10, according to the National WIC Association.
Current WIC benefit levels only cover the cost for about half the recommended daily serving of fruits and vegetables for young children and mothers, according to the group. Trump's proposed cuts would give children only 19 percent and mothers just 12 percent of those recommendations, the group found.
'This budget request falls short of the Trump administration's commitment to 'Make America Healthy Again,' particularly in its failure to support maternal and child health through vital nutrition programs,' according to National WIC Association president Georgia Machell.
Trump's proposal 'directly removes healthy food from the hands of low-income moms and young children who face nutritional risk,' she added. 'This budget doesn't just break promises. It takes healthy food off of children's plates.'
The proposal would also eliminate funding for Child Nutrition Trainings, Farm to School Grants, and School Meal Equipment Grants, 'which will hurt schools' ability to feed children nutritious food during the school day,' according to Democrats on the Senate Appropriations committee.
Trump's budget document zeroes out programs across education.
Entire pages across the 1,200-page document would eliminate programs supporting preschools, before- and after-school programs, literacy programs and education for homeless children and in rural areas.
The proposal would reduce the annual budget for the Department of Education — which the president wants to abolish altogether — by $12 billion, from $79.6 billion to $66.7 billion.
'The budget underscores that President Trump's vision for returning education to the states means state and local taxpayers will pay more to support students and educators at their local schools thanks to major cuts in federal funding,' according to Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Under the White House proposal, more than a dozen existing grants supporting education programs would be condensed into one fund that would let states choose how to spend those dollars.
That would mean ending dedicated funding streams to support after-school programs and other services — such as programs that specifically support tens of thousands of homeless children. Roughly 1.4 million children in kindergarten through 12 grade experienced homelessness during the 2022-2023 school year, according to the latest federal data.
Trump also proposes slashing funds for the Department of Housing and Urban Development by more than 43 percent.
More than 10 million Americans rely on federal rental assistance, including 5.6 million people in families with children. Drastic cuts to those lifelines could put more families at risk of eviction and homelessness, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Housing Choice Vouchers and Section 8 assistance would lose more than $26.7 billion, marking a 42 percent reduction, under Trump's proposal.
'We should be making housing affordable by expanding effective rental assistance to help everyone in need, not slashing it irresponsibly to pay for tax cuts skewed to the wealthy,' said Will P. Fischer, the center's director of housing policy.
A cap on how long households with 'able-bodied adults' can continue receiving federal assistance could put thousands of families at risk of losing their homes.
In New York City, more than 61 percent of residents receiving assistance — roughly 316,00 people — could be deemed ineligible under Trump's vague definition, according to an analysis of New York City Housing Authority data.
'This is a draconian proposal to hurt working people and our economy, and it is dead on arrival in Congress as long as I have anything to say about it,' said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations committee.
'But this is just another reminder we need Republicans to join us to reject these reckless cuts, focus on the investments we actually need to make in our communities and security, and to finally force Trump to follow the law and end his devastating funding freeze,' she added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump hopes China will quickly quadruple its US soybean orders
By Ella Cao, Lewis Jackson and Chandni Shah (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he hoped China would quadruple its soybean orders from the U.S, adding that it was also "a way of substantially reducing" Beijing's trade deficit with Washington. "China is worried about its shortage of soybeans. Our great farmers produce the most robust soybeans. I hope China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders. This is also a way of substantially reducing China's Trade Deficit with the USA. Rapid service will be provided. Thank you President XI," Trump said on Truth Social. A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington is set to expire on August 12, but the Trump administration has hinted that the deadline may be extended. China, which takes more than 60% of soybeans shipped worldwide, buys the oilseed mainly from Brazil and the United States. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 2.13% at $10.08 a bushel at 0446 GMT, having been little changed before Trump's post. China imported roughly 105 million metric tons of soybeans last year, just under a quarter coming from the U.S. and the remainder from Brazil. Quadrupling shipments would require China to import the bulk of its soybeans from the U.S. "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the U.S.," Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said. It is unclear if securing China's agreement to buy more U.S. soybeans is a condition for extending the trade truce. China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The country has steadily reduced its reliance on U.S. soybeans in recent years, shifting more purchases to South America. Under the Phase One trade deal signed during Trump's first term, China agreed to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans. However, Beijing ultimately fell far short of meeting those targets. This year, amid Washington–Beijing trade tensions, it has yet to buy any fourth quarter U.S. beans, fuelling concerns as the U.S. harvest export season approaches. "On Beijing's side, there have been quite a few signals that China is prepared to forego U.S. soybeans altogether this year, including booking those test cargoes of soymeal from Argentina," said Even Rogers Pay, an agricultural analyst at Trivium China. Reuters previously reported that Chinese feedmakers have purchased three Argentine soymeal cargoes as they aim to secure cheaper South American supplies amid concerns about a possible soybean supply disruption in the fourth quarter. U.S. soybean industry has been seeking alternative buyers, but no other country matches China's scale. Last year, China imported 22.13 million tons of soybeans from the U.S., and 74.65 million tons from Brazil. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
10 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Mark Cuban says the US has got to keep investing in research if it wants to have a chance of beating China at AI
"Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban says the US can beat China at AI if it continues "investing in research of all kinds as a country." "The IP we create domestically is what the frontier models can buy or invest in to define their differentiation and advance forward," Cuban wrote on X in response to a post by David Sacks, the White House's AI and crypto czar, on the state of the AI race. When asked about his X post, Cuban told Business Insider that American research is "important, not just because of the outcome of the research itself, but its value to American frontier AI models" like ChatGPT and Gemini. Cuban said that any unique intellectual property produced can be "licensed to the models, for a fee, to be included in their training." This would not only offset research costs but also make the models more valuable, he added. "The quality and depth of the research we do in this country can help us stay ahead of China and other countries in the AI race," Cuban told Business Insider. "We need our Ph.D.s, our scientists, our experts, to stay here and contribute to society, and their IP to make American AI models the global leaders," he added. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump's administration has been culling research grants for universities and research institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Please help BI improve our Business, Tech, and Innovation coverage by sharing a bit about your role — it will help us tailor content that matters most to people like you. What is your job title? (1 of 2) Entry level position Project manager Management Senior management Executive management Student Self-employed Retired Other Continue By providing this information, you agree that Business Insider may use this data to improve your site experience and for targeted advertising. By continuing you agree that you accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Researchers and scientists told Business Insider's Ayelet Sheffey in April that the cuts could stifle innovation and result in brain drain. "It absolutely endangers the United States' position as the global leader in medical research. And for that, we will pay," Peter Lurie, a recipient of an NIH grant terminated in March, told Sheffey. Staying ahead in the AI race has been a primary focus for the Trump administration, which unveiled its " AI Action Plan" last month. The 28-page plan calls for a light-touch approach to AI regulation compared to Trump's predecessor, President Joe Biden. In January, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek shocked the world with its high-performing but relatively cheap AI models. Trump said he viewed DeepSeek's accomplishment "as a positive, as an asset" for America. "The release of DeepSeek, AI from a Chinese company, should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win," Trump told GOP lawmakers in January.
Bloomberg
10 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Nvidia China Chip Payments, Tax Hike Hurts Jobs, Private Credit's Losers
Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US government in a deal to secure export licenses, an unusual arrangement that may unnerve both US companies and Beijing. (2) European nations are seeking to talk to Donald Trump ahead of the US president's planned meeting in Alaska with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to people familiar with the matter. (3) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan for a military sweep against the final Hamas strongholds in Gaza, calling it the best available option for recovering hostages while safeguarding his country's long-term security — an argument that's met vocal opposition at home and abroad. (4) It was a 'trailblazing' project - and for the two small pension funds that helped finance it, a chance to prop up the retirement savings of dentists and pharmacists in rural northern Germany. We look at Germany's biggest property crash since the financial crisis. (5) The UK jobs market weakened across the board in July as employers cut their payroll budgets in response to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' £26 billion ($34.9 billion) tax increase, according to a survey closely monitored by the Bank of England. (6) European Central Bank officials will wait until December to deliver their next interest-rate cut in what is likely to be the final move in the cycle, a Bloomberg survey showed.
