Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, has faced backlash for his controversial comments about Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats, as well as his extremist pro-natalist beliefs. Vance’s ideology is part of a broader conservative movement concerned with declining marriage rates and changing family patterns. This movement seeks to incentivize marriage, punish single parenthood, and weaken policies that enhance women’s economic autonomy. Vance and his allies oppose public investments in child care and family leave, fearing these would empower women to make independent family decisions. Their efforts echo a broader conservative agenda to reinforce traditional family structures and gender roles.
Author: Julie Kohler
Julie Kohler is the host of the podcast White Picket Fence. She is the president of BMK Consulting, a philanthropic and nonprofit strategy consulting firm, and a senior advisor at the New School's Institute for Race, Power and Political Economy.
When It Comes to Family Policies, the Public Doesn’t Want to Pick and Choose
Sen Joe Manchin said he would not vote for a “reckless expansion of government programs,” and has reportedly demanded progressive Democrats “pick one” of Biden’s three family policies included in the bill: extending the child tax credit; childcare; or paid family and medical leave.
But most Americans don’t see investments in critical family policies as reckless—and they don’t want to choose between them.