https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-25-2025
"Yesterday the Trump administration said it would not use any of the
approximately $6 billion the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) holds in
reserve to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The
government shutdown means that states have run out of funds to distribute to
the more than 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.
Roll Call’s Olivia M. Bridges notes that this position contradicts the
shutdown plan the USDA released in late September. Then, it said:
“Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since
the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be
used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also
continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown. These multi-year
contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event
that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.”
Yesterday’s USDA memo also says that any states that tap their own resources to
provide food benefits will not be reimbursed.
Today, in yet another violation of the
Hatch Act that prohibits the use of
government resources for partisan ends, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service
website reads: “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food
stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no
benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate
Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and
gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and
the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
It appears the administration is using those Americans who depend on food
assistance as pawns to put more pressure on Democrats to cave to Trump’s will.
Today, Annie Karni of the
New York Times reported that Trump has joked, “I’m
the speaker and the president,” and Trump ally Steven Bannon calls Congress
“the state Duma,” a reference to Russia’s rubber-stamp assembly.
With Republicans refusing to negotiate with Democrats in the normal way, with
House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) keeping the House out of session, and with
Trump leaving for Asia for a week, Republicans are clearly making the
calculation that Democrats who refused to give up their demand for the
extension of the premium tax credit to stop dramatic hikes in the cost of
healthcare premiums will cave when America falls into a hunger crisis.
What are we doing here, folks?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
