Trump bets on baby boom to Make America Great Again with cash, IVF and more

Trump's second-term blueprint revives traditional family values with baby bonuses, fertility programmes, and marriage incentives to combat America's falling birth rate

A new culture war is brewing in Washington — and this time, it’s all about babies, marriage, and the future of the American family.

 

Inside the White House, a wave of ideas is gaining ground as the Trump administration looks to reverse America’s plummeting birth rate and revive traditional family values. Proposals flowing into the West Wing range from cash “baby bonuses” for new mothers to special scholarship benefits for married applicants — signalling a dramatic shift towards making family growth a national priority, The New York Times reported.

 

Backed by key figures like Vice President JD Vance and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, the movement is gaining real momentum — and insiders say it’s just the beginning.

 

Cash bonuses, scholarships, and fertility education

  Among the proposals being considered:

 

• $5,000 cash bonuses for every American mother after delivery

• Reserved Fulbright scholarships for married students or those with children

• Government-funded fertility education programmes to help women better understand when they are most fertile

 

These ideas are emerging from a passionate movement that sees declining birth rates not merely as a demographic challenge but as a threat to America’s future.

 

And now, for the first time in years, the movement has allies in high places. 

 

Trump’s baby boom dream 

President Trump has made his stance loud and clear: America needs more children.

 

At rallies and public appearances, he has called for a new “baby boom,” with key officials like JD Vance leading the charge, often appearing in public with their own families.

 

“I just think this administration is inherently pronatalist,” said activist Simone Collins, a vocal leader of the pro-baby movement. Together with her husband Malcolm Collins, she has sent the White House draft executive orders — including one suggesting a National Medal of Motherhood for women raising six or more children.

 

“Look at the number of kids that major leaders in the administration have,” Collins said. “You didn’t hear about kids in the same way under Biden.” 

 

Families first: A new centrepiece for Trump’s second term 

Behind the scenes, the White House is quietly preparing a sweeping cultural reset. While headlines focus on tariffs, immigration, and government spending, a family-centred agenda is taking shape.

 

Project 2025, the detailed blueprint guiding Trump’s next steps, begins with a simple but powerful promise: “Restore the family as the centrepiece of American life.”

 

Unlike many Trump-era policies centred on spending cuts, this push for bigger families could mean more government support, more investment — and a reshaped national identity.

 

“President Trump is proudly implementing policies to uplift American families,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The New York Times.

 

“As a mother myself, I am proud to work for a president who is taking significant action to leave a better country for the next generation,” she added. 

More families, stronger America 

While everyone in the movement agrees that America needs more babies, they don’t all agree on how to get there.

 

Some Christian conservatives argue the real crisis is cultural — a loss of faith in marriage, family, and traditional gender roles.

 

Meanwhile, pronatalists like Elon Musk focus less on culture and more on numbers, believing that new reproductive technologies such as IVF are key to boosting birth rates.

 

“Pronatalism strictly speaks to having more babies,” said Emma Waters, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

 

“Our ultimate goal is not just more babies, but more families formed,” she added.

 

IVF access, fertility programmes, and upcoming policy moves 

Next on the agenda? Fertility care.

 

The White House is preparing a major report, expected by mid-May, offering ways to make in vitro fertilisation (IVF) more affordable and accessible.

 

This comes as part of a broader executive order issued in February, which promised to bring down the cost of IVF — a move championed by President Trump during his campaign.

 

But even here, tensions are rising beneath the surface.

 

While Musk supports IVF as a modern tool for population growth, many Christian conservatives remain deeply wary due to ethical concerns surrounding embryo use.

 

“The Trump administration is listening to a lot of different ideas and soliciting input on all of this,” said Lyman Stone, director of the Pronatalism Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies.

 

New ideas on the horizon 

The Heritage Foundation is also preparing to release fresh recommendations, including a plan for tax credits for married couples — with bigger refunds for each additional child.

 

Emma Waters is pushing another idea: directing government funds toward fertility education to help women track their natural cycles and identify early signs of infertility.

 

She argues that this could make a significant difference, particularly for women facing reproductive health challenges.

 

However, not everyone is convinced.

 

“This is not actual medicine,” said Dr Eve Feinberg, a fertility and reproductive health expert at Northwestern University, in an interview with The New York Times.

 

Still, Feinberg agreed that increasing federal funding for infertility research is crucial, calling it a “wonderful idea” that has been ignored for far too long.

The battle for America’s future 

The Trump administration’s vision for a family-first America is bold — but it won’t happen overnight.

 

Plans such as baby bonuses and expanded child tax credits will require Congressional approval, and political fights are likely ahead. Some programmes are already facing funding cuts even as advocates push for more.

 

Yet for Trump’s allies, the mission is clear: more families, more children, a stronger nation.

 

As President Trump declared at CPAC 2023, rallying his supporters with a simple message:

 

“We will support baby booms, and we will support baby bonuses for a new baby boom. I want a baby boom.”