WH Ends Programs Against Child And Forced Labor

The Washington Post reports:

The Trump administration has plans to immediately end U.S.-backed programs that combat child labor, forced labor and other abuses in dozens of countries around the world. John Clark, a Trump-appointed Labor Department official, directed the agency’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) on Wednesday to end all of its grants due to a “lack of alignment with agency priorities and national interest,” according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.

A separate notice from leadership informed the office’s staff on Wednesday that the Labor Department had “taken a decision to immediately terminate all of ILAB’s existing grants,” and acknowledged that this would be a “difficult message to receive,” according to a copy reviewed by The Post. The cuts are expected to end 69 programs that have allocated more than $500 million to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking, and to enforce labor standards in more than 40 countries.

Read the full article.

Scoop: Emails show that Trump admin has plans to immediately end U.S.-backed programs that combat child labor, forced labor and other abuses in more than 40 counties around the world.

“This will affect some of the world’s most vulnerable children.” https://t.co/j7ykPpqoNt

— Lauren Kaori Gurley (@LaurenKGurley) March 27, 2025