Even 73% of Republicans Support Head Start—Why Is Trump Dismantling It?

I am writing to express my shock and deep concern over the Trump administration’s decision to move forward with eliminating hundreds of regulations governing Head Start. This is not some obscure government program. Head Start serves roughly 700,000 children from low-income families, providing early education along with health screenings, dental care, nutritious meals, and support for parents. The administration now wants to eliminate more than 1,000 regulatory provisions governing everything from class sizes and teacher-child ratios to health services and curriculum. What makes this especially troubling is the larger pattern. The Trump administration considered eliminating Head Start entirely in 2025, while eliminating the program was also specifically recommended in Project 2025. Although outright elimination was ultimately abandoned in the FY2026 budget, funding disruptions, staff cuts and regional-office closures followed. Now, rather than eliminating Head Start outright, the administration appears to be stripping away many of the standards that make the program work. Consider Starr Dixon, a Michigan mother who attended Head Start as a child and now has a daughter in the program. After leaving an abusive relationship, she said Head Start provided stability for her family and helped her daughter thrive. She eventually became a Head Start Policy Council Chair and community representative herself. That is what an investment in a child can look like decades later. And this is hardly a partisan fringe issue. A 2025 poll found that 73% of Republicans and 74% of Trump voters support Head Start. I urge you to reject this effort to hollow out a program that has served American families for six decades. If we truly believe in stronger families, greater opportunity and giving children a better start in life, dismantling Head Start—whether all at once or regulation by regulation—is profoundly misguided.