Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., suggested that students who receive free lunches at school should get jobs to pay for them as a sweeping freeze on federal grants and loans ordered by President Donald Trump threatens to impact access to nutrition support at schools nationwide.
During an interview on Tuesday, CNN's Pamela Brown asked McCormick about the potential repercussions of the funding freeze and how it would affect the school lunch and Head Start programs in particular.
"Before I was even 13-years old, I was picking berries in the field, before child labor laws that precluded that. I was a paperboy and when I was in high school; I worked my entire way through," McCormick replied.
"You're telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald's during the summer should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work? I think we need to have a top-down review," he continued.
U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan temporarily blocked Trump's plan on Tuesday afternoon, just minutes before it was set to take effect. The judge's stay will reportedly pause the funding freeze until Monday.
In a memo on Monday, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget said the money would be withheld while the administration reviewed grants and loans to ensure they are aligned with Trump's priorities.
Brown then asked McCormick if he thought that the children in his district who use the free breakfast and lunch programs are staying at home and not working.
"I mean, how many people got their start in fast food restaurants when they [were] kids, versus just giving a blanket rule that gives all kids lunches in high school who are capable of going out and actually getting a job and doing something that makes them have value, thinking about their future instead of thinking about how they sponge out of the government when they don't need to," McCormick replied.
Brown noted that many of the children across the country who use the free meal programs are not old enough to work.
"They're young kids," she said, adding, "They're like 5 and under."
McCormick said he understands that his position "doesn't apply to everybody."
Trump administration officials have said that federal individual assistance would not be affected by the pause on funding, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships.