January 29, 2025
The Georgia Republican believes young teens should find “value” and money for lunch by getting a job.
Georgia Congressman Rich McCormick suggests students should work to pay for their school lunches.
Just nine days after the presidential inauguration, Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders, one of which institutes a freeze on all federal grant funding and distribution. Many school lunch programs rely on these federal grants.
On Jan. 28, McCormick spoke with CNN and shared his thoughts on the matter. The Georgia representative seemed unconcerned about whether young children and their parents could consistently afford school lunches. Instead, he focused on his own experience working as a minor. McCormick reflected on a time before child labor laws were enacted to protect youth and vulnerable populations.
“When you talk about school lunches, hey, I worked my way through high school,” McCormick said. “I don’t know about you, but I worked before I was even 13 years old. I was picking berries in the field before child labor laws precluded that.”
Speaking with CNN’s Pamela Brown, McCormick argued that young teenagers should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and enter the job market. By suggesting that work would allow children to “have value,” he seemingly dismissed the importance of allowing young teens to focus on obtaining an education without distraction.
“How many people got their start in fast-food restaurants when they were kids?” McCormick told Brown. “Versus just giving a blanket rule that gives all kids lunches in high school, who are capable of going out and actually getting a job and doing something that actually makes them have value.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the program provided 4.6 billion lunches to more than 100,000 schools nationwide through funding.
School lunch programs are not the only public services affected. Meals on Wheels, a program that provides meals to elderly citizens with limited mobility, was also impacted. Additionally, Medicaid and Medicare portals across the U.S. were reportedly offline, preventing many from accessing services.
The Trump administration’s order, Memorandum M-25-13, was not available on the White House website at the time of publication. However, the site did host a fact sheet that provided insight into the administration’s broader goals.
The government stated its intent is to “act as faithful stewards of taxpayer money” by ensuring all spending aligns with the current administration’s agenda.
Since Congress is responsible for allocating funding and creating laws, the legality of Trump’s actions remains in question.
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