The White House announced on Tuesday that it plans to use revenue from tariffs to support a nutrition program experiencing a shortage of funds due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared on X that President Trump and his administration had found a “creative solution” by channeling tariff revenue to sustain the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, which was at risk of running out of funds shortly.
“The Trump White House will not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry because of the Democrats’ political games,” Leavitt said.
The specific amount the Trump administration planned to allocate to WIC was not immediately detailed, nor was it clear if the White House could shift these funds without congressional approval. President Trump often proposed using tariff income for various purposes, primarily to reduce the national deficit.
WIC is designed to provide vouchers for low-income families to purchase infant formula and nutritious foods. The program, relied upon by millions of Americans, faced financial trouble after Congress did not pass the necessary appropriations bills at the fiscal year’s end.
Some states indicated they would use their own resources to support WIC, but not all states were financially equipped to do so long-term.
The shutdown was nearing a full week by early Wednesday morning after Senate Democrats prevented the GOP’s “clean” stopgap funding bill from moving forward for the fifth instance on Monday.
Democrats are demanding the stopgap bill include an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits that are slated to expire at the end of the year.
