Idaho GOP pushed back against Gov. Little’s program. Now Trump official backs it
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An official in President Donald Trump’s administration now publicly supports education grants started by Gov. Brad Little that have been highly scrutinized in the Idaho Legislature, putting the administration at odds with a wide swath of Idaho Republicans who have opposed the program.
Little’s office celebrated the support of U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who on Wednesday called Idaho LAUNCH, a program to help high school graduates access higher education, an “incredible opportunity” for students. She said she would bring the idea for the program back to Trump as inspiration for other similar initiatives.
Little championed the program in late 2022, when he persuaded lawmakers to put $80 million annually into a fund for in-demand careers, Idaho Education News reported. The Legislature approved the LAUNCH program in 2023, despite the majority of Republicans voting against it.
Chavez-DeRemer’s comments, delivered at a Micron awards ceremony for another workforce development program — not directly connected with LAUNCH — were a win for Little. In a Wednesday news release, he called Chavez-DeRemer’s recognition of the program “a defining moment.”
The administration’s support for LAUNCH comes as a boon to the program’s supporters, who have faced opposition to the program since it began. Conservative lawmakers told the Idaho Statesman the program was pitched as a way to help get more students, especially those who would not have traditionally pursued higher education, into programs that could lead them to high-demand jobs.
In reality, they said, the grants went to students attending four-year universities in a wide range of fields, including those that didn’t immediately lead to a career.
“We were lied to about what it was in the first place,” Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, told the Statesman.
The Trump administration’s backing didn’t change how Tanner felt about the program, he said Wednesday.
House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, told the Statesman he questioned whether the Trump administration understood the realities of the program. Moyle supported it initially, he said, when it was pitched as a way to get kids into training programs and immediately into high-demand jobs, like truck driving or HVAC installation and repair, he said.
But it turned into “a welfare program for everybody going to college,” Moyle said.
He said he was concerned, too, that grant funding is overseen by a council made up primarily of members of the private sector, with only two elected representatives involved. The makeup and membership of that council is prescribed by the U.S. Department of Labor, said Wendi Secrist, the council’s executive director, in a statement shared by Little’s office.
Chavez-DeRemer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Joan Varsek, a spokesperson for Little, didn’t directly address lawmakers’ concerns about the shifting aims of the program, but shared data from the Workforce Development Council, which oversees LAUNCH. It showed that the top fields in which grants were awarded were biology, nursing, health care technicians and teaching. Construction trades, cosmetology and welding also made the list.
In Wednesday’s release, Little touted the program as an “extraordinary” and “eye-popping” success. He said LAUNCH boosted Idaho’s rate for high school students moving on to a higher education or training program after graduation.
In its first year, the program increased enrollment across all institutions by about 10%, according to the Governor’s Office. Statewide, it led to a nearly 20% increase in community college enrollment and a 15% increase in the number of economically disadvantaged students attending a higher-education program.
Tanner expressed more skepticism.
“Will we see results from LAUNCH? Yeah,” he said. It’s like “any socialistic program – anybody will jump at taking something free, if they can.”
In 2025, lawmakers approved $75 million in continued funding for LAUNCH, according to Wednesday’s release. Private-sector businesses are also investing their own funds to get more students into programs, the release said.
These initiatives support Trump’s effort to “make America skilled again,” Chavez-DeRemer said Wednesday.
Rep. James Petzke, a Meridian Republican who sponsored the bill this year to continue funding for LAUNCH, said he welcomes the administration’s support. The program was implemented with a plan to “sunset” after five years if lawmakers didn’t take action to maintain it.
Support from the Trump administration, he said, was “a good sign that it’ll hopefully continue.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM.
