Raskin, National Capital Region Members Sound Alarm on Trump Administration’s Plans to Shutter USDA Childcare Centers in Maryland, D.C.

Washington, D.C.-Today, Representatives Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Don Beyer (VA-08), April McClain Delaney (MD-06) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.-AL) and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) led members of the National Capital Region's congressional delegation in raising alarms about the Trump Administration's forthcoming closures of two childcare centers for federal workers. The lawmakers are demanding that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins secure a new childcare provider for employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as for at least three other federal agencies, after giving less than three months' notice that they needed to find new childcare services. The two centers are located in Washington, D.C. and Beltsville, MD.

"We view USDA's childcare center closures as an escalation of the Trump Administration's attack on the National Capital Region workforce," the Members wrote. "USDA is currently executing an unlawful and expensive 'reorganization,' which is an attempt to dismantle the agency and relocate large sectors of your workforce far away from where they have built lives, careers and families."

The childcare centers, currently slated to close on July 10, have been open for more than 30 years. While the majority of the children enrolled at the facilities are children of USDA employees, some employees from the Department of Justice, Department of Energy and the Federal Aviation Administration also depend on the centers for child care.

On April 22, childcare service provider KinderCare announced it was not renewing its contract with USDA. USDA has failed to search for and clearly communicate with families about alternative options for childcare and plans to close the centers on July 10, less than three months after announcing their plans to families.

"Uprooting these services with less than three months' notice has caused chaos," the Members continued. "One employee shared that they are 'now at the end of the waitlist for any childcare center, which can be six months to a year.' Another said, 'closing the day care center will be extremely difficult for my child, who had a trusted community of caregivers there.'"

In July 2025, the Trump Administration first announced plans to close USDA's Beltsville office, otherwise known as the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). From day one, National Capital Region lawmakers have fought plans to close BARC and move its operations elsewhere. If BARC closed and moved its facilities out of the DMV, many federal employees would be forced to quit their jobs. In September 2025, members of Maryland's congressional delegation toured BARC to learn more about the facility's exemplary agricultural research programs. These programs benefit American farmers and all those who consume their produce. In April, delegation members sent another letter to Secretary Rollins calling BARC's potential relocation "unwise" and "illegal."

In addition to Raskin, Van Hollen, Ivey, Beyer, McClain Delaney and Holmes Norton, the letter is also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (MD), Mark Warner (VA) and Tim Kaine (VA) as well as Representatives Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07) and Sarah Elfreth (MD-03).

Read the full letter here and below.

Dear Secretary Rollins,

We write to ask you to stop the imminent closure of two childcare centers serving U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees and their families. These centers have been open for over 30 years, serving generations of children while their parents serve America's farmers, ranchers and foresters. Closing the childcare centers will harm USDA workers and personnel at other federal agencies who depend on these services. We urge you to find a new childcare provider before the scheduled closure on July 10, 2026.

We view USDA's childcare center closures as an escalation of the Trump Administration's attack on the National Capital Region workforce. USDA is currently executing an unlawful and expensive "reorganization," which is an attempt to dismantle the agency and relocate large sectors of the workforce far away from where they have built lives, careers and families. The announced closure of the two childcare centers in Washington, D.C. and Beltsville, MD will negatively affect the ability for these dedicated federal employees to access childcare options.

On April 22, childcare service provider KinderCare announced it was not renewing its contract with USDA. Since then, USDA has not communicated with families using childcare services in either the Sidney R. Yates Building in D.C. or the George Washington Carver Center in Beltsville, MD about alternative options, or if the agency will find a new childcare provider. Instead, USDA sent surveyors to classrooms while children were present to measure the rooms, presumably so that they can be repurposed.

Uprooting these services with less than three months' notice has caused chaos, as affordable and accessible childcare is hard to find. One employee shared that they are "now at the end of the waitlist for any childcare center, which can be six months to a year." Another said, "closing the day care center will be extremely difficult for my child, who had a trusted community of caregivers there." Families in Virginia and Maryland pay some of the country's highest childcare costs, with the average annual price of center-based infant care exceeding $17,000 and $20,000, respectively, in 2025.

We therefore urge you to immediately secure a new childcare provider for the Sidney R. Yates Building and the George Washington Carver Center and provide a briefing to our offices informing us of what steps USDA will take to mitigate the adverse effects of the closures no later than June 10, 2026.

[SIGNATURES]

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