Childcare subsidies are on the chopping block at the Department of Labor

The Trump administration is reportedly cutting childcare benefits for Department of Labor (DOL) workers as it continues its efforts to reduce spending and shrink the federal workforce.

DOL employees were notified of the changes in an internal memo, according to HuffPost. The agency is reportedly phasing out its childcare subsidy program, and has already stopped providing backup care that had been available to employees experiencing disruptions due to events such as illnesses or inclement weather.

An employee mental health program is said to be getting canceled as well. The DOL didn’t respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

What this move says about Trump’s childcare agenda. When asked about how he would approach childcare while on the campaign trail, President Donald Trump pointed to his daughter Ivanka’s unsuccessful efforts to improve access to care during his first term, and then downplayed the problem relative to the money he could raise by imposing tariffs on foreign imports.

Vice President J.D. Vance, who has expressed concern that Americans aren’t having enough children, previously suggested that “grandma and grandpa” could chip in for families struggling to secure childcare, and spoke in favor of loosening state certifications to improve the availability of providers.

Even though both Trump and Vance have spoken broadly in favor of increasing childcare access, the administration’s sweeping moves to reduce federal spending have done more to hinder than help working parents with care needs thus far. Last month the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze federal funds put Head Start childcare and education programs at risk of closing, HR Brew reported. A condition of the CHIPS and Science Act that required grantees to detail their plans for providing childcare to employees may also be targeted as the White House seeks to renegotiate the law, Reuters reported on Feb. 13.

Such moves may have implications for parents’ ability to remain in the workforce, as high childcare costs can make doing so untenable.

A boost from Congress? It’s not yet clear whether Trump will lobby Congress to pass any of the childcare bills that have recently been introduced by US lawmakers.

One bipartisan bill, which was introduced by Senators Katie Britt and Tim Kaine last year, would increase the maximum credit employers can claim for providing childcare to their employees from $150,000 to $500,000.