How White House is looking to jumpstart nation's birth rate

The Trump administration is reportedly fielding ideas for how to increase the declining US birth rate, a longtime priority of White House figures like Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk. Since 1990 the US total fertility rate has declined from 2.1 births per woman — enough to fully replace the current population — to 1.62 births per woman in 2023, below the replacement level, according to a March report from the US Centers for Disease Control, part of a larger decline in birth rates in wealthy peer countries.

- Josh Marcus,

Experts point to a variety of causes for the trend, including the increased prevalence of dual-income households, cost of living issues, and changing social mores.

While the US birth rate rests between comparable nations — higher than that of Japan, Italy, and China, on par with the UK and Australia, but lower than South Korea - the declining figure is a subject of concern for many. A shrinking population could struggle to invigorate the economy and strain the social safety net, as the population skews increasingly older. Groups have pitched the administration on a variety of ideas, including a $5,000 “baby bonus” for new mothers, expanded child tax credits and reserving space in federal programmes like Fulbright fellowships for people who are married or have children, according to The New York Times.