WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Child Care for Every Family Network is setting the record straight about Secretary Kennedy’s comments in recent Congressional hearings about the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle child care and Head Start. Despite his platitudes and obfuscation, Kennedy dodged questions, pleaded ignorance, and attacked members when asked about the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to undermine Head Start and child care across the country.                                                      

Andrea Paluso and Erica Gallegos, Co-Executive Directors of the Child Care for Every Family Network, released the following statement: 

“Secretary Kennedy’s actions attacking Head Start and child care speak a lot louder than his platitudes in front of Congress. The reality is that Kennedy fired his staff working on child care and Head Start and delayed billions of dollars funding, forcing programs to close. Families across the country aren’t buying Secretary Kenendy’s act, and we will continue to hold the Trump administration accountable for their anti-family policies.”

See below for examples of Secretary Kennedy’s claims in front of Congress and the facts surrounding each of them.

Kennedy’s Claim: Secretary Kennedy first claimed he did not know about any delays in Head Start funding, and then blamed workers inside HHS that want to make the Trump Administration “look bad”–without providing any evidence. 

Fact: There has been widespread reporting for months showing delays in Head Start funding, including some centers being forced to temporarily shut down until funding resumed.

• On January 27, the Trump administration issued a federal spending freeze, and though the freeze was blocked by a federal judge, Head Start centers immediately lost access to their funding. 
• As of February 4, despite the federal injunction and the Trump administration claiming it had rescinded the freeze, at least 50 Head Start providers in 24 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were still waiting for payments from the federal government. Some programs were waiting at least a week for funds that used to come within 4-5 hours.
• The delays in Head Start payments caused centers in Wisconsin and Washington to temporarily close, laying off child care workers and leaving families stranded without care. 
• As of April 15, HHS was withholding over $1 billion in Head Start funding for child care centers across the country. 

Kennedy’s Claim: Secretary Kennedy claimed that he fought “very hard” to make sure Head Start got its funding next year. 

Fact: Details of President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 have not yet been released, and other members of the Administration are vehemently opposed to Head Start. 

• On April 11, it was reported that the Trump Administration’s upcoming budget request would eliminate Head Start. 
• President Trump released a so-called “skinny budget” on May 2. Though the skinny budget did not eliminate Head Start, it also did not propose an actual funding level–meaning Head Start’s future is still uncertain. 
• Russ Vought, architect of Project 2025 and Trump’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has openly decried Head Start writing in right-wing think tank report that it is, “little more than a federal daycare program, with major indoctrination potential.” Vought’s Project 2025 also claims that Head Start has “little or no academic value” despite overwhelming research that says otherwise. OMB plays a critical role in crafting a President’s budget request across agencies, including HHS. 

Additionally, the Trump Administration has already begun to sabotage the Head Start program, which primarily serves low-income families of color, immigrant families, and children with disabilities. 

• On April 1, 2025, the Trump administration fired thousands of staff from HHS, including from the Administration of Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Child Care and Head Start. The mass firings included completely shuttering five of the twelve regional Head Start offices, which helped 22 states, 6 territories, and 467 Tribal governments implement their Head Start programs. 
• The loss of regional offices that help administer local Head Start programs has resulted in uncertainty for thousands of children that rely on Head Start across the country, including in Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Connecticut, and more.

Kennedy’s Claim: When asked a simple question about HHS withholding federal child care assistance funding (known as the Child Care and Development Block Grant), Secretary Kennedy launched into a tirade unrelated to child care, personally attacking Senator Patty Murray, so much so that the Chair of the Subcommittee had to instruct him to “hold back.” Kennedy finally admitted that his department is blocking Congressionally approved and appropriated child care funding–but did not offer any reason why.  

Fact: The Trump Administration has failed to send out federal child care funding to state agencies. States use these funds to provide child care assistance to millions of families who depend on it to afford child care.

• Recent reporting indicates that state agency officials, “were notified … the funding has not yet been approved for awards and there was no timeframe for when the grants might be approved.”
• Senator Murray herself has indicated that HHS is withholding up to billions in federal child care assistance. For FY25, Congress has appropriated 8.75 billion for CCDBG. 

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The Child Care for Every Family Network is the national movement and campaign to transform child care, representing 1,500+ child care providers, impacted families, state and national organizations, and organizers across the country. Learn more: childcareforeveryfamily.org.