An "especially cruel" Trump administration policy proposal plans to weaponize stay-at-home parents in its war against "c--- daycare," according to a new political analysis.
Vice President JD Vance is pushing a new federal policy that would allow two-parent families living on one parent's paychecks to access funds meant for cash-strapped single parents and daycare providers, a New York Times columnist warned Wednesday.
"Instead of crafting policy that might help hard-working single mothers — like his own mother — Vance is reportedly championing a federal policy that would take funds earmarked for child care for low-income parents and change the eligibility requirement to include married families with a parent who does not work," opinion writer Jessica Grose wrote.
"This proposal is especially cruel in light of recent cuts to programs that support low-income working families."
The policy in question targets the $12 billion Child Care and Development Fund, created in the 1990s to support low- to moderate-income parents, by sending cash to states to distribute directly to daycare providers.
The Trump administration proposal would not increase funding, but it would add a new group of people with access to the cash — married parents whose spouse works at least 35 hours per week.
Grose argued Vance's policy was cruel on a multiple levels in its ability to both insult parents — she noted Vance often criticizes parents who opt for daycare as "frivolous and wealthy" — and deprive children of services.
"It will almost certainly hurt child care providers who rely on this funding to stay afloat," she wrote. "Because stay-at-home, married parents will likely be battling for the same pot of funds, it could also prevent single parents from earning money for their families."
To make matters worse, most moms would prefer to work, Grose noted, citing a November 2025 analysis from a conservative think tank found nearly all moms with kids under 5, regardless of education level or marital status, would prefer not to stay home.
What most parents want, Grose argued, are paid parental leave and child tax credits.
"The state of American family policy is so poor that our federal government could do about a million and one things to help parents that would be more effective and more desired," Grose concluded.
"I can only conclude that the administration’s plans are either meant to pit stay-at- home parents against working ones, or to punish single parents — and their children — who need support the most."
