'Disturbing and Dystopian': Trump Latest Agenda Rewards Higher Marriage and Birth Rates With More Funding

The Trump administration is proposing to give some public transit projects a larger share of federal money based on marriage and birth rates in the areas they serve.

Draft guidance from the Federal Transit Administration would raise the federal share for eligible Capital Investment Grants projects by up to 10 percentage points, depending on birth and marriage rates in a project's corridor.

The proposal is open for public comment until 16 November and has not taken effect. Democrats have condemned it, with one senior senator calling it 'bizarre and dystopian'.

Up to Ten Points for Birth and Marriage Rates

The FTA published the proposed guidance in the Federal Register on 1 October 2026. Under the formula, a corridor with a birth rate more than 1 per cent above the national average would add five percentage points to a project's federal share.

A rate equal to or up to 1 per cent above the average would add three points, and a rate within 1 per cent below it would add one point.

The same tiers apply separately to marriage rates, so a project could gain up to 10 percentage points combined. Projects below the thresholds would not receive the boost, but the document says they would not otherwise be penalised when their share is calculated.

The boost would be added to the score a project receives on existing criteria, and the resulting percentage would determine its federal funding. The calculated amount could not exceed the sum a project requested or the statutory maximum.

The proposal cites a Department of Transportation order directing the department, 'to the extent practicable, relevant, appropriate, and consistent with law', to give preference to communities with above-average marriage and birth rates.

Billions in Transit Grants at Stake

The Capital Investment Grants programme is a major federal source of funding for large transit projects, including new rail and bus rapid transit lines. Under current FTA policy, the maximum federal grant share is 60 per cent for New Starts projects and 80 per cent for Small Starts and Core Capacity projects.

A higher federal share can determine whether a city or region can build a project at all, since local and state governments must find the remainder. On a £2.2 billion ($3 billion) rail line, a 10 percentage point increase would be worth about £221 million ($300 million).

The department defended the approach. 'If you want federal funding, your project needs to align with where communities and families are actually growing,' it said in a statement, first reported by Politico on 6 October.

The statement added that the department was focused on 'smart, affordable projects with high ridership'.

Murray Condemns a 'Bizarre and Dystopian Idea'

Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the plan a 'bizarre and dystopian idea you'd expect in a TV show, not actual policy put forth by the US government', The Independent reported.

She accused the president of seeking to use the grants for partisan ends. Trump, she said, 'wants to weaponise federal grants to wage his backward culture wars and punish Democrats'.

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown fertility rates tending to be higher in Republican-leaning states than in Democratic-leaning ones, and critics have argued that tying transit funding to these measures would favour Republican areas.

A Policy First Floated in Duffy's 2025 Memo

The proposal builds on a directive issued by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shortly after he was confirmed on 28 January 2025.

His memo told the department to prioritise communities with marriage and birth rates above the national average, Fortune reported. It also barred recipients from imposing vaccine or mask mandates and required cooperation with immigration enforcement.

That directive drew immediate criticism. Murray described it in February 2025 as 'disturbingly dystopian', while Kevin DeGood of the Center for American Progress called it 'bizarre and a little creepy'. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said it was 'reminiscent of what you might see in the People's Republic of China' and described it as 'social engineering'.

Fortune's analysis of 2022 CDC figures found that all 14 states with the highest fertility rates had backed Trump in the 2024 election, while the 11 states with the lowest rates, along with Washington DC, had supported Kamala Harris. Marriage rates also skewed higher in Republican-leaning states, though by a smaller margin.

A White House Focused on Babies

Duffy, a father of nine, urged young Americans in June to 'get married and have lots of kids'. His department's approach mirrors a wider effort within the administration to promote larger families.

Trump has described himself as the 'fertilisation president'. In May 2026, the administration proposed a rule concerning employer fertility benefits as part of its push to expand access to in vitro fertilisation.

In 2025, the White House also considered proposals such as a $5,000 cash 'baby bonus' for new mothers, CBS News reported, although no such federal payment was adopted.

The FTA says the proposed guidance won't take effect until it reviews public comments and finalises the policy, according to its website. Comments are due by 16 November 2026. If adopted, the guidance would make marriage and birth rates in a project's transit corridor a direct factor in calculating its federal grant share.