James Clyburn – The Trump administration wants to rescue WIC now, but has suggested cuts in 2026

The Trump administration said it found money to continue a food program for low-income families amid the government shutdown, but a Democratic lawmaker countered that it’s the president who ultimately wants to cut the Women, Infants and Children program.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote^[1] Oct. 7 on X that Democrats are “so cruel in their continual votes to shut down the government that they forced the WIC program for the most vulnerable women and children to run out this week.” Leavitt said the White House will transfer tariff revenue to cover WIC during the shutdown.

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C, reshared Leavitt’s X post on Oct. 8 and wrote,^[2] “Trump’s budget called for a $300M cut to WIC. So yes, the White House *was* going to allow impoverished mothers and babies to go hungry.”

Democrats and Republicans have blamed each other for the shutdown that began Oct. 1. It takes two to tango on the federal budget, and both sides are at an impasse; Republicans wanted to temporarily extend federal spending at current levels, while Democrats wanted Republicans to extend expiring subsidies for Affordable Care Act^[3] health care plans and to reverse Medicaid cuts that Trump signed into law this summer. 

We asked the White House and the U.S. Agriculture Department, which oversees the WIC program, about Trump’s budget proposal for WIC. We received an automated response from the Agriculture Department about delayed response times related to staff furloughs because of the shutdown. The White House did not reply. 

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children^[4], or WIC, provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to health care providers and social services for low-income women, and infants and children up until they turn 5. The program serves about 6.9 million people^[5].

Trump’s budget proposal cuts WIC as part of larger spending cuts

Congress ultimately approves federal spending, but the Trump administration, like every presidency before, can signal priorities with a wish list.

Clyburn’s spokesperson pointed to the Agriculture Department’s 2026 budget summary^[6], which drew from the president’s 2026 budget request. The budget includes $7.3 billion for WIC in 2026, a decrease from $7.597 billion in 2025, or a difference of about $291 million.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed cutting about $163 billion in non-defense discretionary spending for the next fiscal year while increasing spending for defense and the border. 

Trump’s budget proposal also rolls back a WIC rule^[7] that allows participants to get additional money for fruits and vegetables^[8] through the “cash value benefit.”

A left-leaning think tank^[9] and advocacy organization^[10] said the benefit would be rolled back from $26 a month to $10 per month for children, and from about $50 a month to $13 a month for adults.

Lawmakers who set the budget prefer a different approach. The Senate-passed budget bill^[11] would increase WIC by $603 million, while the House Appropriations Committee bill was less generous, keeping it closer to 2024 levels. 

Trump administration bails out WIC in the short term

Lawmakers and WIC advocates warned that WIC could soon run out of money during the shutdown, although states had options to temporarily fill the gap.

About one week into the shutdown, the White House said^[12] it will use tariff revenue to pay for WIC, providing about $300 million^[13]. 

Chris Towner, a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget expert, said it’s not clear whether the White House can use tariff revenue in this way.

“The problem is not that there is insufficient money to pay WIC benefits; the problem is that WIC funding is appropriated by the bills that keep the government open, and since that appropriation has lapsed, the White House does not have Congress’s permission to spend that money,” Towner said.

WIC benefits have continued during the shutdown, said Whitney Dawn Carlson, spokesperson for the National WIC Association. Some territorial and tribal agencies experienced temporary disruptions in WIC services, but they reopened. 

Our ruling

Clyburn said “Trump’s budget called for a $300 (million) cut” to the Women, Infants and Children program.

Administration documents show that the administration’s proposed budget for WIC for the next year would cut $291 million for the program. In the short-term, the administration said it will use tariff revenues to allow WIC to continue during the shutdown, separate from Trump’s budget proposal.

We rate this statement True.

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