Trump suggests states raise taxes to pay for child care, says federal government can’t afford it

President Trump on Wednesday said states should raise taxes to pay for day care, arguing that the federal government cannot afford to fund child care for all 50 states. 

The federal government spends around $30 billion per year on child care.

“The United States can’t take care of day care. That has to be up to a state. We can’t take care of daycare. We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people,” the president said during an Easter lunch at the White House.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care. You gotta to let a state take care of day care, and they should pay for it, too. They should pay. They have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to make up for it,” he added.

Trump said the federal government’s focus should be “military protection” while child care, Medicaid and Medicare should be handled individually by states. 

New Mexico is the only state to offer universal child care to all residents, regardless of income. The state is using a sovereign wealth fund fueled by its oil and gas revenue. New Mexico is the second-largest crude oil-producing state, according to The LAist. 

While Santa Fe has developed a method to decrease its reliance on federal funds for child care, other states have struggled. 

California, Texas, Florida and New York are among the top five states receiving federal funding for child care. Their population size has posed a barrier to providing universal options for families looking to cut child care costs. 

However, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) have both shared that it’s a legislative priority. 

Mamdani has proposed using a millionaire income tax to subsidize publicly funded child care. 

Washington state’s newly passed tax for wealthy residents plans to use revenue generated for child care, among other programs. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is backing a similar wealth tax on billionaires in California that would “ensure” that no family pays more than 7 percent of their income on child care and establish a minimum $60,000 annual salary for every public-school teacher in the country, although Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and other local officials have shared their opposition to the legislation.

An unpublished analysis found that 55 percent of children on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a government child care program, reside in New York and California, according to the Zero to Three nonprofit. 

The Trump administration has said it would prioritize weeding out fraud by increasing documentation requirements for federal funding and has pushed to lift a Biden-era rule that capped child care payments at 7 percent of a family’s income.  

California and New York were among five states that saw their child care federal funding frozen earlier this year after the release of a video accusing day cares in Minnesota of receiving federal money without having children present at their child care facilities. A federal judge paused the $10 billion social safety net funding freeze, temporarily restoring grants to the five Democratic-led states.

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