In a move that has baffled economists and enraged lawmakers, President Donald Trump is extending a massive $30 billion financial lifeline to Argentina, the country with the highest beef consumption in the world, even as the Republican administration presides over a systematic defunding of critical domestic programs that form the backbone of support for American working families, seniors, and children.
The bailout, announced after Trump met with his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei at the White House, involves a $20 billion currency swap agreement with Argentina’s central bank.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has confirmed the administration is working to secure an additional $20 billion from private banks and sovereign wealth funds, bringing the total potential aid to $40 billion.
Trump explicitly linked the continuation of this support to the political fortunes of Milei, his ideological ally, stating that if he wins, the U.S. will stay with him, and if he does not, the support will end.
This massive foreign intervention stands in stark contrast to a wave of cuts and policy changes at home that are leaving many of the most vulnerable Americans behind.
While extending a financial hand to a foreign nation, the administration is pulling back support for key domestic infrastructure and anti-poverty initiatives.
The administration has cancelled billions in federal funding for congressionally approved infrastructure projects already underway, almost exclusively in blue states.
This includes terminating a $16 billion commitment to the Hudson Tunnel Project between New York and New Jersey, the nation’s largest infrastructure project, which supports an estimated 11,000 direct construction jobs and thousands more in related service industries.
Funding has also been pulled from a $2 billion project to expand Chicago’s elevated rail system and from clean energy projects across the country, putting an estimated 50,000 jobs at risk.
As Argentina receives its bailout, the U.S. is seeing a dramatic reversal in the fight against child poverty.
After the expanded Child Tax Credit from the American Rescue Plan cut child poverty by nearly half in 2021, that policy has expired. The child poverty rate has since surged back up to affect 13.4% of American children, or 9.7 million children, in 2024.
Analysis shows that if the 2021 expanded CTC were still in place, 3.3 million fewer children would be living in poverty.
The Trump administration’s new budget makes only meager changes to the CTC that exclude the poorest 19 million children and, when combined with cuts to food and health assistance, will leave the lowest-income families worse off.
The administration’s fiscal priorities have consistently favored wealthier corporations and foreign engagements over broad-based support for American workers.
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, President Trump’s signature legislative achievement, primarily stimulated the economy through a short-term boost in demand.
However, its benefits flowed disproportionately to higher-income households and corporations.
The law significantly reduced federal revenues, and because it was not offset by spending cuts or other tax increases, it has raised federal debt, a burden that will be borne by future generations.
Economists point out that the Argentina bailout appears driven more by politics and geopolitics than by American economic interests. Experts have said there is no real economic rationale for the U.S. to step in, as Argentina is not a systemic country whose crisis risks spreading to the global economy.
The move has been criticized as a way to prop up a political ally and counter Chinese influence in the region, with U.S. taxpayers potentially on the hook for a country with a history of repayment issues.
The withdrawal of infrastructure funding follows a pattern that critics label as political retribution.
The administration has not hidden the fact that the defunded projects are primarily located in Democratic-leaning states, with the action against California’s high-speed rail project openly described as punishing the state for opposing the MAGA and Project 2025 agendas.
This has created a situation where the health of local economies and the livelihoods of thousands of American workers are being jeopardized as part of a political strategy.
As the administration funnels tens of billions of dollars to stabilize the economy of a South American ally, the message to many American families feels clear.
The “America First” promise is being overshadowed by a different set of priorities—one where the needs of working-class Americans, poor children, and public servants are being sidelined in favor of international political alliances and ideological projects.