Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., challenges Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on his policies during the coronavirus pandemic, during a hearing by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 3, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) responded to President Donald Trump’s federal grant freeze jeopardizing school meal assistance by calling for children to get fast food jobs.

The GOP response to the freeze, which could affect trillions of dollars of funding for vital education and health care initiatives, has seen Republicans spin the move as a cost-cutting measure.

While responding to a question from CNN host Pamela Brown on whether he would support cuts to financial assistance for school meals, McCormick denigrated child labor laws and called for children to work at fast food restaurants instead of collecting government assistance.

“Hey, I worked my way through high school,” McCormick said. “I don’t know about you, but I worked since before I was 13. I was picking berries in the field before they had child labor laws that precluded that.”

“You’re telling me that kids who stay at home, instead of going to work at Burger King and McDonald’s during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work?” McCormick asked a visibly confused Brown. “We need to have a top-down review. Think about where kids need to actually be.”

When Brown told the Georgia representative that many of those children aren’t of working age, he responded, “I get that. It doesn’t apply to everybody.”

Federal programs like Head Start aim to help struggling families budget for things like school meals for children as young as five years old. In 2022, a reported 30 million public school children received reduce-priced lunches through the National School Lunch Program.

Lawsuits have already began to pour in challenging Trump’s 90-day freeze.