WASHINGTON — Angel Padilla, vice president of strategy and policy at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), released the following statement after Donald Trump said yesterday that the government can’t “take care of daycare” and other crucial programs like Medicaid and Medicare because it is funding the war with Iran:

“Donald Trump told the entire country that his priorities are not lowering costs for women and families, but fighting an elective war that the American people didn’t ask for. Child care, Medicaid, and Medicare aren’t ‘little scams.’ The truth is that Trump’s administration has been following the Project 2025 playbook to undermine our fragile and underfunded child care and health care systems since he returned to office.

“Our budgets reflect our priorities. Whether it’s paying for more tax breaks for the billionaire class, using bogus claims of fraud as an excuse to slash funding for basic needs programs, or now funneling money toward an unpopular and unnecessary war, one thing is clear: this administration will find any excuse to gut programs that support women and families.”

NWLC is documenting how the Trump administration is systematically undermining the supports that women and families rely on. Earlier this week, NWLC released a comprehensive fact sheet outlining the many ways that this administration is dismantling child care. In January, NWLC also released a report detailing actions Trump took in his first year to attack affordability and basic needs programs.

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