NEW: Government Watchdog Finds Trump Administration Illegally Froze Funding to Head Start Nationwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, released the following statement after a nonpartisan, independent government watchdog found that the Trump Administration illegally withheld funding from Head Start facilities nationwide earlier this year, forcing some to close:

“This report proves what we’ve known all along: the Trump Administration broke the law and tried to take away preschool and child care services from Wisconsin’s working families because President Trump thinks the funding provided to the federal government is a slush fund for his personal use. It’s not. We have three branches of government, and when Congress approves funding, that is the law of the land that the President must follow. When funding to Head Start was frozen earlier this year, Donald Trump left families nationwide high and dry as preschool programs were forced to shutter, staff were laid off, and parents in some cases drove hours to find replacement child care,” said Senator Baldwin. “This non-partisan report shows that the Trump Administration not only turned their backs on thousands of working families, but they also think they are above the law. No one is above the law, and I’ll continue standing up and speaking out for Wisconsin families when President Trump breaks the law and tries to take away programs Wisconsin families rely on.”

Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that found the Trump Administration and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) illegally impounded funding approved by Congress for Head Start programs. This impacted Head Start programs across the country, causing at least one Wisconsin Head Start program to shut down earlier this year.

Senator Baldwin has been pressing the Trump Administration for months to answer for this illegal funding freeze. In April, she led a group of 41 Senators in calling out the Trump administration’s direct attacks on Head Start and demanding his Department of Health and Human Services immediately release Head Start funding, reverse the mass firing of Head Start staff, and stop gutting the offices that help ensure high-quality child care is available for thousands of children and families across the country. She also pressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on this frozen funding at a Senate hearing in May. She visited a Head Start facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin to talk with families, leadership, and staff about the impact of the illegal funding freeze after they were forced to close their doors earlier this year.

Read the full report from GAO here.