The White House has announced that President Donald Trump has authorized a plan to use U.S. tariff revenue to keep the federal WIC nutrition program running during the ongoing government shutdown.
The president is vowing that his administration “will not allow mothers and children to go hungry.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the administration directed officials to draw on funds from Section 232 tariffs to sustain the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Leavitt accused Democrats of “cruelly voting to shut down the government” and forcing WIC to the brink of exhausting its resources.
“The Trump White House will not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry because of the Democrats’ political games,” Leavitt said in a statement.
The Democrats are so cruel in their continual votes to shut down the government that they forced the WIC program for the most vulnerable women and children to run out this week.
Thankfully, President Trump and the White House have identified a creative solution to transfer… https://t.co/tj9Xt7f4yQ
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) October 7, 2025
Tariff Revenue as a Stopgap
The White House confirmed that the plan was crafted as a short-term “creative solution” by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
While the administration has not disclosed exactly how much tariff money will be used, officials expect the infusion to cover WIC’s costs “for the foreseeable future.”
Without the move, the program was projected to run out of funds within weeks.
WIC provides food vouchers, breastfeeding assistance, and nutrition education to about 6 million low-income women and children nationwide.
The federal government spent more than $7 billion on the program in fiscal year 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Shutdown Battle
The decision comes as Democrats and Republicans remain locked in a budget standoff.
Democrats have long criticized GOP proposals to restrain WIC spending.
Meanwhile, Republicans say Democrats’ refusal to adopt spending discipline is what triggered the current shutdown.
Leavitt stressed that the president’s action is meant to shield vulnerable families while lawmakers remain deadlocked.
An official told Axios that the move should be viewed as a temporary fix to keep families afloat until Congress acts.
The White House has not indicated how long tariff revenue can sustain the program, or whether another infusion will be needed if Democrats continue blocking government funding bills.
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