Trump admin looking at 'baby bonus' to incentivize public to have more children

The White House has been fielding proposals aimed at persuading people to marry and have children, an effort being pushed by outside groups focused on increasing the nation's birth rate after years of decline.

One such proposal that has been pitched to White House advisers is a $5,000 "baby bonus" to every American mother after she gives birth.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," President Donald Trump said Tuesday when asked about a $5,000 incentive for new mothers.

When asked by ABC News about the proposals the administration has been fielding, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is "proudly implementing policies to uplift American families."

"The president wants America to be a country where all children can safely grow up and achieve the American dream. 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," Leavitt said.

Sources cautioned that while advisers are considering the ideas, Trump hasn't made a final decision on any of the proposals.

A White House official pointed ABC News to the policies Trump has taken so far to help families, specifically citing his executive order aimed at increasing access and affordability for in vitro fertilization, or IVF. The official also cautioned against linking outside proposals to the White House.

The Trump administration has made a significant effort to promote families and emphasized that more babies need to be born in the United States.

On the campaign trail, Trump coined himself the "King of IVF," and in March, he joked that he would be known as the "fertilization president."

Vice President J.D. Vance has also made a concerted effort to encourage people to have more children. During the 2024 campaign, Vance said the child tax credit should be expanded, stating that he would love to see it at $5,000 per child, but he noted that it needs to be worked out with Congress to see its viability.

And at the March for Life in late January, Vance told the crowd he wanted "more babies in the United States of America" and called on the government to do its part to ensure families can afford to care for their children.

"I want more happy children in our country, and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them. And it is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are," Vance said.

"We need a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our GDP number or our stock market but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country," he added.

Simone Collins and her husband, Malcolm Collins, are pro-natalists who have advocated actions to make it less difficult for families to have children and ultimately reverse declining birth and marriage rates. Simone Collins told ABC News that she and her husband have submitted several draft executive orders to the White House Domestic Policy Council, including bestowing a "National Medal of Motherhood" to mothers with six or more children. They also proposed that couples should not face a tax penalty for getting married.

She said the White House was receptive to the draft orders and is reviewing them.

However, MomsRising CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, whose organization says it advocates on behalf of more than a million mothers and families, said the programs are "sheer lunacy -- coercive, counterproductive recipes for failure."

"There's no question that families need policies that make it possible for moms and parents to care for their kids, go to work and contribute to their communities," she said in a press release, arguing that affordable child and elder care, access to maternal health care and paid family leave would better encourage people to start and grow their families. "This president has had endless opportunities to support those tried-and-true, proven policies that lift families and our economy, but his administrations have utterly failed to do so.

"The proposals the Trump administration are reportedly considering will not open avenues for moms, families and our economy to thrive," she added. "Those who want families to have more babies should support the policies that build the care infrastructure families and businesses need. When we become a family-friendly country, families will have more children."