WASHINGTON (AP) — A food aid program that supports millions of low-income mothers and their juvenile children received a $300 million cash infusion from the Trump administration this week, easing some fears that it would run out of money during the government shutdown.
The Special Nutritional Supplements Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, infants and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula. The program, known as WIC, was in danger of running out of money this month due to the government shutdown that occurred shortly before annual appropriations were scheduled to be allocated.
This week, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt posted on X that the White House had found “a creative solution” to employ tariff revenue to keep the program afloat. As of Thursday, at least some states were receiving WIC funds. Alaska and Washington said they received enough federal funding to keep their programs running at least through the end of October. The Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, which closed its office Thursday due to a lack of funds, received money that allowed it to reopen Friday, radio station KUNR reported.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs WIC, told congressional staff that they would employ $300 million in unspent tariff revenue from the last fiscal year to keep the program afloat, two people briefed on the call told the AP. The people declined to be named because they were not authorized to disclose details of the call.
Tariff revenue supports many USDA programs. The law allows the administration to transfer funds appropriated for other programs to WIC.
Without the additional money, state and local governments would have had to step in to fund their WIC programs and later seek reimbursement from the federal government when funding was restored. Washington state, struggling with a massive budget deficit, said it cannot afford to employ state money for the WIC program.
In Alaska, the WIC program only had enough federal funding to run through Saturday, meaning the state would have had to step in with its own funds to keep the program running. But this week, officials learned they received nearly $900,000, enough to fully fund the program through Nov. 8, according to Shirley Sakaye, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health. About half a million of those came from remaining funds from other programs, she said.
The government has been closed since October 1 after Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to pass a bill to further fund the government. Democrats in Congress want to reverse cuts to Medicaid passed earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump’s mega-bill. They also want to expand subsidies that lower the cost of Affordable Care Act insurance plans, which cover more than 24 million Americans.
The White House and Republicans in Congress have rebuked Democrats for the shutdown, highlighting the potential damage it could do to WIC.
“Democrats are so cruel in their constant vote to shut down the government that they are phasing out the WIC program for the most vulnerable women and children this week,” Leavitt posted on X.
But Republicans in the House of Representatives and the White House have also tried to cut the program. Trump’s budget proposal and a budget bill passed by House Republicans last month would not have fully funded the program, meaning eligible applicants would have to be turned away.
“Now that President Trump is signaling that he cares about the WIC program, he should finally come to the negotiating table to reopen the government,” said Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state. “And he should immediately reject his budget request to significantly cut benefits for millions of mothers and children — and tell House Republicans to withdraw their proposed cuts, too.”
____
This story has been corrected to reflect that the Affordable Care Act covers 24 million Americans, not 25 million.
____
Associated Press education coverage receives funding from several private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP Standards for Working with Charities, a list of supporters, and supported areas at AP.org.
