Trump budget proposes $291 million cut to WIC (May 30, 2025 )
May 30, 2025 — The Trump administration's fiscal year 2026 budget request proposed reducing WIC funding from $7.597 billion to approximately $7.3 billion — a cut of about $291 million — for a program that serves roughly 6.9 million low-income women, infants, and children through their most critical developmental years.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children provides specific foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health referrals during pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood. Critics noted that the proposed reduction appeared to conflict with the administration's stated "Make America Healthy Again" priorities. For 30 years, administrations of both parties had maintained a bipartisan commitment to fully fund WIC so that all eligible families who apply receive full benefits.
The administration separately took credit for keeping WIC funded during the fall 2025 government shutdown by using tariff revenues as a bridge — even as the budget document being debated at the time proposed the $291 million reduction. Congress ultimately appropriated full WIC funding for FY2026 in November 2025 legislation.
| https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2025/oct/16/james-clyburn/Trump-WIC-budget-proposal-shutdown-food/ |