by Raina McCaslin
With the new calendar year barely turned to 2026, the Trump regime has already made significant headway in demonstrating its ongoing hostility towards working class communities. Five key “blue” states– including California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Minnesota– are now facing the possible freezing of $10 billion in government assistance to childcare programs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified the 5 states that they would need to provide “justification” in order to resume funding, alongside insisting upon the names and social security numbers of program beneficiaries. These programs include: the Child Care Development Fund, which federally subsidizes childcare for 1.3 million children nationwide; and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides job training and financial aid for low-income households.
Other programs, such as the Social Services Block, are also at risk of losing funding. Although this flippant freezing of funds has since been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, families dependent on these services find themselves no less bewildered at the callous attacks against society’s most vulnerable. This withholding of funds could especially be impactful for women, thousands of whom could potentially be pushed out of employment as childcare becomes unaffordable. Notably, these disturbing actions came shortly after a viral YouTube video alleged that Minnesotan childcare centers were being run by undocumented Somali immigrants.
Though no evidence for this claim was provided, that did not stop Donald Trump from using this as another opportunity to sow division. As the international grip of American imperialism weakens, U.S. oligarchs scramble to find other tactics of domestic control. These tactics include the scapegoating of minorities– most recently immigrants– who are being thrown under the bus by the Trump regime in favor of the dismantling of D.E.I. programs, the mass deportation of families by ICE, and now the withholding of federal childcare funding– the latter of which not only affects immigrants, but all families dependent on these services.
Meanwhile, recently-elected New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani stands in stark contrast to the Trump’s regime, seeking to subsidize childcare in the city for all children under age 5. This proves that although reactionary forces persist, progressive ones continue to advance as well. All who consider themselves communists must continue to work within the anti-monopoly movement rising out of masses with increasing vigor, while also condemning the blatant scapegoating of any group meant to serve as a distraction from the mistakes of capital.
