WASHINGTON – The White House said it has found funding to keep afloat a food aid program that had been threatened by the government shutdown.
White House says it will use tariff revenue to bolster food aid program
What we know:
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a social media post on X that Trump has “identified a creative solution to transfer resources” from tariffs the administration has imposed on U.S. trading partners to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Also known as WIC, the program provides vouchers to buy infant formula as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and other healthy staples.
What we don’t know:
Leavitt did not provide details of how such funding transfers might work.
But she wrote that the Trump White House “will not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry.”
Food aid program faces funding shortages amid government shutdown
Why you should care:
WIC is relied upon by millions of low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women and young children.
However, the program has been threatened by the ongoing government shutdown, which happens when Congress fails to pass an annual budget. This stops the flow of these federal funds, jeopardizing benefits for families.
FILE: Basket of groceries (Credit: Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The program was in danger of running out of funding within weeks amid the government shutdown, Axios previously reported.
The federal government spent over $7 billion in the 2024 fiscal year to fund WIC. More than 6 million people benefit from the program.
The backstory:
This news came on the seventh day of the government shutdown, with no signs of progress on Capitol Hill.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s administration warned of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what has been longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.
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The move was widely seen as a strongarm tactic to pressure lawmakers to reopen government, as party leaders remain seemingly at an impasse. Democrats are conditioning their support for a short-term funding patch on extending the health subsidies that lessen the cost of plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.
After the longest government shutdown in 2019, Trump signed legislation into law that ensured federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. But in the new memo, his Office of Management and Budget said back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, as part of any bill to fund government.
The Source: This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press, Axios, previous FOX Local reporting contributed.