WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is proposing regulatory changes that could result in cuts in federal aid to millions of low-income Americans.

The proposal by the Office of Management and Budget on Monday would change how inflation is used to calculate the official definition of poverty used by the Census Bureau to estimate the size of the country’s poor population. The measure is also often applied to determine eligibility for government benefits.

Lowering estimates of the inflation rate could mean that the poverty level would rise at a slower rate, resulting in fewer families and individuals able to qualify for food assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, health assistance like Medicaid and other government programs.

Critics seized on the proposal as the administration’s latest broadside against those struggling hardest to make ends meet. Over the past two years, the Trump administration has also sought to cut housing subsidies and tried to expand the work requirements needed to qualify for food stamps.