Trump Considers $5K 'Baby Bonus' to Boost Declining US Birthrates

The Trump administration is exploring ways to address America’s demographic crisis.

According to a report from The New York Times, Trump aides are considering a range of proposals designed to encourage families to have more children.

One idea involves reserving 30 percent of Fulbright scholarships — a prestigious, government-funded international fellowship — for applicants who are married or have children.

Another proposal would give American mothers a $5,000 payment following childbirth.

A third proposal would fund programs to educate women on reproductive health and fertility awareness, including how to better understand ovulation and conception timing.

The Times notes that figures like Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump advisor Elon Musk support these initiatives. The article explains:

Those ideas, and others, are emerging from a movement concerned with declining birthrates that has been gaining steam for years and now finally has allies in the U.S. administration, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Elon Musk.

Policy experts and advocates of boosting the birthrate have been meeting with White House aides, sometimes handing over written proposals on ways to help or convince women to have more babies, according to four people who have been part of the meetings who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Administration officials have not indicated what ideas — if any — they might ultimately embrace.

But advocates expressed confidence that fertility issues will become a prominent piece of the agenda, noting that President Trump has called for a “baby boom” and pointing to the symbolic power of seeing Mr. Vance and other top officials attend public events with their children.

America’s demographic crisis is defined by falling birth rates, an aging population, and increasing dependence on mass immigration to sustain the workforce and fill low-wage jobs.

With the fertility rate at around 1.6 — well below the replacement level — the native population is shrinking at an unprecedented scale.

The push comes amid growing interest in pro-natalist policies across the Western world, with countries like Hungary and Poland already experimenting with financial incentives to boost birthrates.

At the same time, American states are beginning to explore their own family-centered initiatives, suggesting a potential shift toward a more fertility-conscious national policy landscape.