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government shutdown
SNAP Beneficiaries ‘Dumbfounded by the Cruelty’ of Trump Holding Crucial Food Program Hostage
"If I have money left over, then I will eat."
Nov 04, 2025
Beneficiaries of federal food aid are expressing anger and bewilderment at the Trump administration's efforts to use the program as a hostage to end the current shutdown of the federal government.
On Monday, the Trump administration said that it would partially restart funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the wake of two district court rulings mandating that the administration use emergency funds set up by Congress to continue the program.
The administration said that it would only fund around 50% of the $8 billion in total monthly benefits, while also warning that there could be delays before SNAP beneficiaries are able to access the funds.
In interviews with The Guardian, several SNAP beneficiaries fumed that their ability to access food for themselves and their families is being used as a political football by the administration.
Wisconsin resident Betty Standridge, who had been relying on SNAP to afford food after being hospitalized, told The Guardian that, without the funds, "I will not be able to replenish my food for the month, therefore I will do without things like fresh produce, milk, eggs."
Donna Lynn, a disabled veteran who lives in Missouri, also said that she would have to make significant cuts to her budget if SNAP benefits were not replenished.
"It comes down to paying for my medications and my bills or buying food for myself and for my animals," she said. "So I pay for my medications and bills and get what food I can for my animals, and if I have money left over, then I will eat."
A Wisconsin retiree named Sandra, meanwhile, told The Guardian she feared that the administration was angling to permanently end SNAP even after the end of the government shutdown.
"I'm dumbfounded by the cruelty," she said.
Before the administration allowed more than 40 million people—nearly 40% of whom are children—to go without food assistance on November 1 and refused to use a contingency fund to keep SNAP running, the Republican Party passed roughly $186 billion in cuts to the program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act this summer.
The bill expanded work requirements, shifted some of the cost of SNAP to the states, and restricted benefit increases, leaving millions of people vulnerable to losing their benefits.
Betty Szretter, a New York retiree whose daughter depends on SNAP benefits, told NBC News that she regrets voting for President Donald Trump in 2024, and said she's worried that his focus appears to be elsewhere—like the corporate-funded construction of a ballroom at the White House—rather than on helping people like her family.
“I think deep down he wants to help the country with things like food insecurity,” she said. “But now he is busy out of the country and demolishing the White House. I know that is being paid for with private funds, but those could be used to help people... It all seems very selfish."
CBS News on Tuesday interviewed a Baltimore resident named Kelly Lennox, who has been relying on SNAP for the last year-and-a-half after a car accident that required multiple surgeries left her unable to work. She said the halt of SNAP payments was a particularly harsh blow given that she's deep in medical debt in the wake of the accident.
Now, she says she'll have to rely on local food pantries to keep from going hungry.
"I'm going to have to make use of the pantries and work with their schedule, because if I use actual money for food, it takes away money I need to pay for my residential parking permit, gas, and union dues," she said.
Roughly 42 million people living in the US currently receive SNAP benefits, and The Washington Post estimates that SNAP payments account for 9% of all grocery sales in the US.
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GOP Blocks Democratic Resolution Demanding 'Unbelievably Cruel' Trump Fully Fund SNAP
"Trump cares more about playing politics than making sure kids don't starve," said Sen. Jeff Merkley. "Kids and families are not poker chips or hostages. Trump must release the entirety of the SNAP funds immediately."
Nov 03, 2025
After President Donald Trump's administration announced Monday that it would partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for November to comply with a federal court order, a Republican senator blocked congressional Democrats' resolution demanding full funding for the SNAP benefits of 42 million Americans during the US government shutdown.
"Trump is using food as a weapon against children, families, and seniors to enact his 'Make Americans Hungry Agenda,'" declared Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who is spearheading the measure with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
"It's unbelievably cruel, but Trump cares more about playing politics than making sure kids don't starve," he continued. "Kids and families are not poker chips or hostages. Trump must release the entirety of the SNAP funds immediately."
Merkley on Monday night attempted to pass the resolution by unanimous consent, but Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) blocked the bill and blamed congressional Democrats for the shutdown, which is nearly the longest in US history.
The government shut down at the beginning of last month because the GOP majorities in Congress wanted to advance their spending plans, while Democrats in the Senate—where Republicans need some Democratic support to pass most legislation—refused to back a funding bill that didn't repeal recent Medicaid cuts and extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Then, the Trump administration threatened not to pay out any SNAP benefits in November and claimed it couldn't use billions of dollars in emergency funding to cover even some of the $8 billion in monthly food stamps. Thanks to a pair of federal lawsuits and Friday rulings, the US Department of Agriculture on Monday agreed to use $4.65 billion from the contingency fund to provide partial payments. However, the USDA refuses to use Section 32 tax revenue to cover the rest of what families are supposed to get, and absent an end to the shutdown, there's no plan for any future payments.
"The Trump administration should stop weaponizing hunger for 42 million Americans and immediately release full—not partial—SNAP benefits," Schumer said in a statement, after also speaking out on the Senate floor Monday. "As the courts have affirmed, USDA has and must use their authority to fully fund SNAP. Anything else is unacceptable and a half-measure. The Senate must pass this resolution, and Trump must end his manufactured hunger crisis by fully funding SNAP."
The resolution states that the Trump administration "is legally obligated" to the use of the contingency fund for the program, "has the legal authority and the funds to finance SNAP through the month of November," and should "immediately" do so.
The resolution—backed by all members of the Senate Democratic Caucus except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania—stresses that "exercising this power is extremely important for the health and wellness of families experiencing hunger, including about 16,000,000 children, 8,000,000 seniors, 4,000,000 people with disabilities, and 1,200,000 veterans."
Congresswomen Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) planned to introduce a companion resolution in the House of Representatives. Hayes noted Monday that "never in the history of the program has funding for SNAP lapsed and people been left hungry."
Bonamici said that "the Trump administration finally agreed to release funding that Congress set aside to keep people from going hungry during a disruption like this shutdown, but it should not have taken a lawsuit to get these funds released. Now the House Republicans need to get back to Washington, DC and work to get the government back open."
This article was updated after an unsuccessful attempt to pass the resolution.
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'Not Good Enough': Trump to Pay Partial November SNAP Benefits After Court Rulings
"Trump needs to stop weaponizing hunger. They have the authority to fully fund SNAP," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib. "It shouldn't take a court order to get the president to stop starving families and release the funds."
Nov 03, 2025
On the verge of the longest government shutdown in US history and in the wake of two losses in district courts, President Donald Trump's administration announced Monday that it would only partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for 42 million Americans this month.
In response to lawsuits filed by state attorneys general, municipalities, nonprofits, and labor groups, federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Friday ruled against the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) refusal to use a contingency fund for at least some of November's $8 billion in SNAP benefits, often called food stamps.
Judge John McConnell, appointed to the District of Rhode Island by former President Barack Obama, gave the USDA two options: Fully cover the November SNAP benefits with the emergency funding and money pulled from other sources by the end of Monday, or make a partial payment of the total amount of the contingency fund by the end of Wednesday.
In a pair of Monday filings, the Trump administration chose the latter, explaining that there is "a total of $4.65 billion in the contingency fund for November SNAP benefits that will all be obligated to cover 50% of eligible households' current allotments."
While the development means millions of low-income families will at least get some benefits this month, a hunger crisis still looms. As one of the filings notes, "This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely."
In a Monday statement, Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the municipalities, nonprofits, and labor groups that sued in Rhode Island, welcomed that McConnell's order "means SNAP beneficiaries—including children and seniors—whose money ran out at the end of last month should be receiving funds for essential nutrition." However, she also called out the Trump administration for "still trying to deprive people of their full benefits," which "will not only prevent people from getting the full sustenance they need but also delay payments going out altogether."
"We are reviewing the administration's submission to the court and considering all legal options to secure payment of full funds," she pledged. "It shouldn't take a court order to force our president to provide essential nutrition that Congress has made clear needs to be provided. But since that is what it takes, we will continue to use the courts to protect the rights of people. For now, we are pleased to have forced the administration to release money it had been withholding from 42 million people in America who rely on their benefits. Rest assured, we will continue to fight so that people have the full benefits they are entitled to under SNAP."
Democratic Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell—who co-led the case in her state with over two dozen other AGs—noted Monday that "never in the history of the SNAP program—including during government shutdowns—has SNAP funding ever been suspended or only partially funded."
"While some funding is better than no funding, the federal government has made it clear that they are only willing to do the bare minimum to help our residents, and only after they were required to do so by our lawsuit and the courts," she said. "The Trump administration has the means to fund this program in full, and their decision not to will leave millions of Americans hungry and waiting even longer for relief as government takes the additional steps needed to partially fund this program."
Democrats in Congress—who have refused to vote for the GOP majorities' funding legislation to end the shutdown unless they reverse devastating cuts to Medicaid and extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits—also criticized the USDA's plan.
"USDA has the authority to fully fund SNAP and needs to do so immediately. Anything else is unacceptable," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on social media. "Trump's 'decision' to follow the court order and only send partial SNAP benefits to 42 million hungry Americans as Thanksgiving approaches is cruel and callous. Trump should focus less on his ballroom and his bathroom and more on the American people."
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) similarly said: "The letter of the law is as plain as day. Trump should have paid SNAP benefits all along. Just now paying the bare minimum to partially fund SNAP is not enough, and it is not acceptable. Trump should immediately work to fully fund benefits under the law."
Both Senate Democrats from Massachusetts, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, also took aim at the president on Monday. Markey said: "Two federal courts confirm what we already knew: Trump must use contingency funds to fund SNAP this month. But millions will still see their benefits delayed because Trump tried to hold SNAP hostage. No more games. Use all available resources to ensure no one goes hungry."
While it's the Senate where Republicans need some Democratic votes to send a government spending bill to Trump's desk, House Democrats also blasted the administration's decision to only partially fund SNAP benefits in November.
"This is a very temporary Band-Aid," stressed Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), adding that "42 million hardworking Americans are trying to figure out how they will keep food on the table. Partial is not good enough. End this Republican shutdown now so we can fully fund SNAP."
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) declared: "Trump needs to stop weaponizing hunger. They have the authority to fully fund SNAP for 42 million Americans—including 1.4 million Michiganders. Anything less is unacceptable. It shouldn't take a court order to get the president to stop starving families and release the funds."
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