President Donald Trump told attendees at a private White House Easter luncheon on Wednesday that it was “not possible” for the federal government to pay for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and child care, arguing those responsibilities should fall to state governments while the federal government concentrates on military spending.
Speaking at an event that was closed to the press, Trump said he instructed Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought not to send money for day care programs because “the United States can’t take care of day care.” The president told the audience states should “take care of day care” and “they should pay for it too,” adding that Washington's primary obligation must be “military protection.” The White House posted video of the remarks to its YouTube page — as it routinely does with public events — and later removed the clip.
A White House spokesperson, Olivia Wales, defended the comments in a statement, saying Trump was “referring to rooting out the billions of dollars of fraud in these vital programs” and pointing to administration actions she said protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Wales also noted that the president has signed legislation she described as eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits for nearly all seniors and restricting benefits to ineligible individuals.
Trump went further in his remarks, saying states would have to raise taxes to cover child care costs and suggesting the federal government could reduce federal taxes “a little bit” to offset the shift. He said bluntly, “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal.”
The president reiterated long-standing administration allegations that Democratic-led states have misused federal child care funds, singling out Minnesota and Los Angeles. He alleged that federal inspectors checked roughly 700 day care sites in Minnesota and found “not one that was a day care center.” That claim echoes viral accusations targeted at Minnesota centers earlier this year; a later state review by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families concluded the day care centers at the center of those viral attacks were operating normally. In January, the Department of Health and Human Services temporarily froze access to federal child care and family assistance funds for five Democratic-led states — California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York — amid fraud concerns the administration has raised.
The debate over who should fund and administer child care comes against a backdrop of existing federal support for low-income families, including Child Care and Development Block Grants and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Democrats in Congress have proposed larger, nationwide subsidies: Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Katherine Clark introduced legislation last year to expand early education access and cap family child care costs at 7% of household income.
Democrats were quick to seize on Trump’s remarks, contrasting the administration’s willingness to finance military action overseas with its refusal to back expanded domestic programs. Several lawmakers pointed to the high cost of recent U.S. military operations in Iran — which congressional estimates put at more than $11.3 billion in the first six days of last month — as evidence the government can mobilize large sums when it chooses. “Trump says we can pay for war in Iran but can’t afford childcare,” Rep. Ro Khanna wrote on X, while Sen. Andy Kim said the war’s cost could fund additional Medicare benefits for seniors.
The administration has named Vice President J.D. Vance to play a central role in its anti-fraud agenda; Vance convened the first meeting of a new anti-fraud task force last week, and the president on Wednesday swore in Colin McDonald as assistant attorney general for national fraud enforcement. The dispute underscores a broader policy choice the White House is framing as a prioritization of national defense over expanded federal social spending, even as lawmakers and advocates press for a larger federal role in early childhood care and health programs.