Democrats Seize On Trump Administration's Efforts To Fight Food Stamp Payments

The Trump administration’s legal efforts to fight having to fully fund food stamps for millions of vulnerable Americans is creating an opening for Democrats eager to use the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to paint the president as callous and out of touch.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Trump administration’s legal efforts to fight having to fully fund food stamps for millions of vulnerable Americans is creating an opening for Democrats eager to use the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to paint the president as callous and out of touch.

“Donald Trump and his administration have made the decision to weaponize hunger, to withhold SNAP benefits from millions of people, notwithstanding the fact that two lower courts, both the district court and the court of appeals, made clear that those SNAP benefits needed to be paid immediately,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CNN Saturday, calling the actions “shameful.”

“Donald Trump is literally fighting in court to ensure Americans starve. HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU,” echoed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, on X.

The comments come after the Supreme Court late Friday granted the administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order requiring it to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the shutdown. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program serves about 1 in 8 Americans, mostly those with lower incomes.

A judge had given the administration until Friday to make the payments. But the administration asked an appeals court to suspend any orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund, and to move forward with planned partial SNAP payments for the month instead.