Press Releases

Congressional Black Caucus Statement on Child Federal Assistance Programs

Washington, January 8, 2026

On January 6th, 2026, the U.S House Department of Health and Human Services froze access to over $10 billion in federal childcare and family assistance funds in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. These actions taken by the administration target three federal assistance programs, including the Childcare Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Social Services Block Grant. 

Today, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement:

“As the American people continue to urge this administration to lower the cost of living and address the affordability crisis, President Trump remains committed to ignoring these pleas and stripping away critical resources that hardworking families rely on. For Republicans, cruelty is always the point. Donald Trump is wielding a politically vindictive agenda against blue states across the nation while sacrificing the well-being of women and children in his path of destruction.

“Not only are these assistance programs intended to make child care more affordable for families struggling to make ends meet, but they also provide critical stability to the child care economy. This loss of funding threatens the foundation of a job sector that operates on slim margins and is supported largely by women of color—specifically Black women.

“Black women make up a disproportionately large share of the child care workforce. Since day one of the Trump presidency, Black women’s unemployment rates have continued to rise at an alarming rate. This is yet another example of this administration’s targeted attacks on Black women across the nation. We must not allow President Trump to use our children as political pawns in his assault on our country’s most vulnerable communities.

“The Congressional Black Caucus condemns President Trump’s recent actions that threaten the livelihoods of hardworking Americans, and we will continue to defend the programs on which they depend most.”