A draft budget plan from the Trump administration is raising alarm among early childhood education advocates for proposing to eliminate all federal funding for Head Start—a program that has provided preschool education, meals, and health services to low-income children since 1965.
An official familiar with the fiscal year 2026 budget, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization to comment publicly, told USA TODAY that the White House intends to remove Head Start from its funding priorities entirely. The proposal is part of a broader cost-cutting agenda that also includes scrapping the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), when contacted, declined to confirm or deny the potential cuts. “No final funding decisions have been made,” said OMB spokesperson Rachel Cauley.
Though presidential budgets serve primarily as policy blueprints and require congressional approval, the proposed elimination signals a serious threat to a program that has historically enjoyed bipartisan support. The National Head Start Association (NHSA) responded swiftly, warning that the consequences would be “catastrophic” for over 800,000 children and more than 1 million working parents who rely on the service.
Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director of NHSA, stated in a press release that the program’s closure would end access to meals, developmental support, and basic health care for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children. “We urge every parent, every American, and every believer in the American dream to reach out to their elected officials to express their outrage,” she said.
The budget proposal appears to align with “Project 2025,” a sweeping conservative policy framework aimed at restructuring the federal government. The initiative, spearheaded by former OMB Director Russell Vought, has influenced much of the Trump administration’s second-term planning, including efforts to consolidate or dismantle social programs in the name of government efficiency.
The impact is already being felt at the administrative level. As USA TODAY noted, recent layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have led to the closure of several regional Head Start offices. These abrupt changes have left local program leaders struggling to adapt.
Jennie Mauer, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel she was in “total shock” at the sudden shutdown of the regional office supporting her state’s programs. Similarly, Janice Smith of Michigan’s Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency said the layoffs came without warning, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.
Since its inception during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” Head Start has supported nearly 40 million children and families. In the 2021–2022 school year alone, it served more than 800,000 children and pregnant women, according to federal data.
While the future of the program ultimately lies in the hands of Congress, this proposal marks one of the most significant threats to Head Start’s existence in its 60-year history.
Sources:
- Schermele, Z. (2024, April). USA TODAY
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Detroit Free Press
- National Head Start Association (nhsa.org)
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hhs.gov)
President Trump Picture on Flickr by Gage Skidmore CC BY SA 2-0
