Sen. Duckworth says she fears Trump will gut Head Start program for young children

Head Start has enjoyed bipartisan support for decades, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in a call with reporters Tuesday in advance of President Donald Trump’s Joint Address to Congress.

The Illinois Democratic senator said she didn’t believe a few months ago that the program offering preschool and child care services to middle- and low-income families would be on the chopping block. Now, she’s unsure of its future.

“We are seeing they are willing to tear down significants parts of the federal government,” Duckworth said. “I believe they will gut Head Start. They have cut so much in a short time already.”

Trump’s administration has aimed swiftly and significantly to cut down the size of the federal government that he says is bloated and spends well beyond its means. His administration has fired scores of federal workers and briefly cut off all federal funding, and his appointees have discussed plans to dismantle departments wholesale, such as the Department of Education.

Duckworth was joined on the phone by Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, executive director of the Illinois Head Start Association. The program serves children and families in all Illinois counties and, in addition to early childhood education, provides mental and physical health care, nutritional services and social services, Morrison-Frichtl said.

The program also allows parents to go to school themselves, to work or to participate in job training, she said.

When Trump announced a federal grant and loan funding freeze Jan. 29 – an executive order that was later rescinded – Head Start programs reported that they could not access their funding portals.

“That caused a huge ripple. Several programs had to close for a day or two,” and others had to lay off staff who have not yet been rehired, Morrison-Frichtl said.

“The impact is still being felt today. There is a lot of anxiety and uncertainty rippling across our communities,” she said, including when Head Start agencies interview prospective staff. “They don’t know if they want to work for us because of the unstable funding and uncertainties in the program.”

As a result of cuts made through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, 20% of the Office of Head Start staff have been fired, and 25% of the Office of Child Care staff have been let go, Morrison-Frichtl said. Proposed Medicaid cuts also will be felt by the program.

“Almost every Head Start and Early Head Start student are receiving Medicaid funds,” she said.

If Medicaid is cut, 700,000 Illinois residents will be dropped from the Medicaid expansion programs due to a trigger law passed under former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration, Duckworth said.

Republicans who support Medicaid and Head Start may be afraid to speak out in support of the programs, she said. Musk, she added, has told lawmakers “if they oppose this or that, he will spend $100 million (in the next election) against you, and you will be out of a job. He is calling and threatening them.”