Republicans Policies Take From Mothers To Help The Rich: America Faces Tragic Injustices This Mother's Day (2026)

 

Leading Republicans are playing a sleight of hand when it comes to supporting families and children this Mother’s Day. Their rhetoric might sound like a sappy greeting card, but their actions tell an ugly truth about their real intentions. Their agenda is to shift resources away from the moms and kids who need them to advance an agenda that further enriches the wealthy and corporations.

It’s hard to take Republicans like Vice President Vance seriously when he urges Americans to have more children while virtually every action the GOP has taken since being in the majority makes parenthood harder by raising costs, cutting jobs and taking away healthcare. Rather than address inflation and affordability, the Republicans’s signature legislative achievement so far, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA), cut trillions of dollars from basic needs programs to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest households and huge corporate tax loopholes for companies that boost profits by  price-gouging.

Last year, over 85 large corporations paid zero in income taxes. Meanwhile, Republicans refused to renew tax credits that make health insurance in the state marketplaces more affordable, forcing millions to pay double or even triple for their coverage and forcing millions more to forgo coverage all together. 

For example, in our home state, Illinois, approximately 384,000 Illinoisans will lose health coverage because of the Republican cuts. Another approximate 205,000 Illinoisans will face cuts to food stamp benefits–already pretty meager at around $6.20 per day for an individual–because of the GOP’s new law. Over 60% of food stamp enrollees in Illinois are families with children. More than 33% are disabled or elderly adults. More than 36% are working families, often full time. None of the Republican legislation so far has done anything to lower the cost of food, rent, utilities and out of pocket health expenses. Instead, the GOP policies are leaving Americans moms less equipped to respond to the affordability crisis. 

Helping the rich get richer by taking food and health care away from working families, kids and seniors is not the kind of “family value” my mother instilled in me, so listening to Vance carry on about families excitedly saving up for baby strollers and toys while voting for policies that put these things out of reach just adds insult to injury.  

Maybe the Republicans believe that voters will be so hoodwinked by their nostalgic fairy tales of bygone days when moms stayed home and one-income households were the norm that they won’t notice that President Trump and the GOP have broken every promise about making life more affordable for average American families. Maybe voters won’t notice that the Republicans aren’t doing anything to make child care, paid family leave or college affordable or accessible. Maybe the public will  forget that literally everything from the cost of groceries to the price of utilities, gas and health premiums are soaring on the Republicans’ watch and that increasing numbers of people can’t afford to raise the children they already have, much less add more. 

Republicans’ mishandling of the economy isn’t the only impediment to having more kids.  The political instability that has made school shootings, gun violence and unregulated social media new norms in American childhood naturally give potential parents pause. Raising children isn’t just more expensive than ever, it’s also harder to protect kids from danger than ever before. Yet our current leaders resist any efforts to moderate social media, to regulate weapons or to invest in addressing root causes of violence like poverty or mental illness.

And, speaking of danger, state sponsored danger like President Trump’s illegal war in Iran can only make things worse. Despite a clear lack of public support for the war, the  President is requesting billions more for defense while at the same time recommending deeper cuts to domestic programs that families depend upon. Republican House Representatives voted in April for a farm bill that would slash funding for the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program that helps new moms and young kids under five get adequate nutrition potentially leading to cuts for 130,000 in Illinois.

When it comes to moms and kids, what matters is not what politicians say but what they do. 

Republicans who can find funding for an endless war that Americans don’t want or support, but won’t fund food for millions of toddlers and their parents don’t care about families and don’t value motherhood. 

This Mother’s Day, the best way to appreciate moms is to fight back against the Republican hypocrisy that is making it harder for moms to raise their families and flourish. Three powerful ways to do this are:

1. Taking your vote seriously and doing everything in your power to elect politicians at the national, State and local levels who prioritize support accessible care and food.

2. Donate to organizations that are lobbying against these horrific cuts to further empower them to directly inspire change within the current electorate and the leaders in power.

3. Spread the word with your network on social media! Share this article to raise awareness for this important cause.