WASHINGTON (AP) — On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assured Congress that the Trump administration is committed to maintaining the current funding levels for Head Start. This assurance came after concerns arose from agency layoffs and budget freezes, which sparked fears that this long-standing program might face severe reductions.

While addressing a Senate subcommittee, Kennedy highlighted that the administration plans to focus efforts on promoting nutritious eating within Head Start and will work to ensure the program continues to effectively reach its 750,000 children and their families.

This early education initiative, designed to assist children from low-income and homeless backgrounds nationwide, is dealing with workforce shortages, and numerous centers are constantly struggling with financial instability.

While the program has been spared from elimination, Kennedy has laid off a significant number of employees who helped the program operate and shuttered half its regional offices. Providers have experienced repeated funding delays since President Donald Trump took office, forcing some to briefly close.

In a tense exchange, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, pressed Kennedy on why the federal government delayed sending funding to a Head Start operation outside Milwaukee, forcing it to close.

“What would you say to a parent who shows up for … Head Start and the doors are closed?” she asked him.

“I would be very sad,” Kennedy said. “I fought very hard to make sure Head Start gets all of its funding next year.”

Asked what was causing the delays, Kennedy said he did not know, but suggested the problem came from employees “who wanted to make the Trump administration look bad.”

Backers of Head Start had been fretting after a leaked Trump administration proposal suggested defunding it, but earlier this month a senior White House official told reporters there would be no changes to the program.

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