In April, Trump said, “We can’t take care of daycare. We’re a big country. We have fifty states, we have all these other people, we’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare”
This week, Senate Republicans voted to keep a rule from Donald Trump’s administration that makes childcare more expensive, blocking Democrats’ effort to overturn it. The rule, which the Trump administration finalized in May, reverses Biden-era provisions to protect low-income families from excessive childcare costs by capping copayments for childcare subsidies at no more than 7% of income. It also rolls back a Biden-era rule that changed how childcare providers were paid, providing greater financial stability for childcare programs and increasing childcare options for families. These changes could expose families to higher costs while destabilizing the already precarious finances of childcare providers, making it even harder for families to find and afford care.
In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:
“Senate Republicans once again chose to stand with Donald Trump and special interests over working families and children. Families are struggling to afford basic necessities in Trump’s economy and navigate the childcare affordability crisis, but Trump and Republicans don’t care. They have no problem spending billions on bombs and tax breaks for the rich, even if it means leaving working families out to dry. Meanwhile, Democrats are fighting tirelessly to lower childcare costs and make life more affordable.”
A report last month revealed the extent to which families are unable to afford childcare in Trump’s economy. In 2025, the national average cost of childcare across all ages reached a whopping $13,184 — with annual costs for a typical family reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars — and childcare prices were 5% higher than the year prior. Meanwhile, over 40% of children under six years old live in a childcare desert, and in most states childcare costs now exceed average in-state college tuition, rent, or even mortgage payments.
REMINDER: Trump and Republicans made massive cuts to critical childcare programs, including withholding funding from Head Start and slashing Head Start staffers at the beginning of his term, which forced some rural programs to close. Trump’s Big Ugly Bill also caused states to preemptively restrict access to childcare assistance as a result of limited funding.
