How the Trump Administration Can Support Healthy Marriage

In his remarks at the March for Life in January, Vice President JD Vance declared his support for children and families.

“I want more babies in the United States of America,” he said. “I want more happy children in our country. And I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”

Vance also touted President Donald Trump as being “the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetimes.”

The most pro-life and pro-child institution that exists is marriage. Healthy marriage is the bedrock of healthy families and children. Declining marriage rates drive down birth rates. Married women are far less likely to have an abortion. And children raised by their married parents have on average the best outcomes on a host of factors: physical and emotional health, educational achievement, and poverty risk.

Fewer and fewer Americans are marrying, though, particularly those from lower-income and working-class communities, meaning that more Americans are deprived of the benefits marriage provides.  

 A pro-life, pro-family administration is one that is pro-marriage. Here are a few immediate steps the new administration can take to support and strengthen marriage:  

1. Continue to Speak About the Importance of Marriage

Most unmarried Americans desire to marry, yet marriage has become increasingly uncommon. Roughly one-third of Gen Zers are expected to never marry by age 45, or to never marry at all. As marriage has dwindled, the social infrastructure to help people form and maintain healthy marriages has declined, with much of the drop occurring in communities with fewer economic resources.

Vance’s own upbringing in a Rust Belt state gives him a unique position to talk about the importance of healthy marriages with communities where marriage has seen substantial decay.

2. Continue to Support Healthy Marriage Initiatives

Helping people develop the knowledge and skills to build and maintain their own marriages is also crucial, particularly in communities with fewer examples of healthy marriages.

The federal Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Initiative provides funding for healthy marriage and relationship education. The Trump administration should keep the next round of grants, set for this year, on schedule. Going forward, the administration should work to enhance  the program by opening opportunities for grantees to implement innovative approaches for delivering marriage education, for example.

3. Work With Congress and States to Support Marriage

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program provides a fixed funding stream to states for the purpose of reducing poverty through promoting work and encouraging stronger families. Three of the four stated goals of TANF include promoting marriage and increasing family stability for children. But states use very little money for these purposes.  

A few states have been exemplary in encouraging healthy marriage though, using a mix of TANF and Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education funding, as well as state funding. Even small amounts of funding can create successful programs. The Trump administration should work with Congress and the states to build and expand healthy marriage initiatives.

The breakdown of marriage is one of the most pressing problems of our time, connected to so many other social problems. This issue receives far too little attention, however. The Trump administration has a fresh opportunity to lead by addressing marital and family breakdown, thereby helping to restore America’s most vital institution.

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