Democrats blast GOP, White House over food stamp shutdown threat

Senate Democrats have pushed back against claims from Republicans and the Trump administration that the well of federal food stamp benefits has been depleted, given that President Donald Trump funded the program during the last shutdown.

Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned in a memo that food stamp funding, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), will run out by Nov. 1 due to the ongoing shutdown and lack of funding.

Although there is an emergency fund of approximately $5 billion, the USDA argued that the emergency fund was not “legally available.”

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But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) and Senate Democrats argued at a press conference Wednesday that Trump funded SNAP during the last government shutdown in 2019. Trump’s then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that SNAP funding would be available while Washington was still in the throes of a partial government shutdown.

“They funded this under the Trump administration in the last shutdown,” Schumer said. “Then don’t believe the bull.”

Both Senate Republicans and Democrats have launched legislative efforts on Saturday to prevent the SNAP funding cliff, which if not blocked would leave 42 million people without food benefits.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) doubled down on his stance against so-called “shotgun shots,” or one-time bills that would fund certain programs or pay some federal employees that lawmakers have been pushing on the bench.

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President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader R.S.D. He listens as John Thune speaks during lunch with Republican senators on the Rose Garden porch of the White House in Washington, Oct. 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

“I think the quickest way to end this is to expose everything and then pay everyone,” Thune said. “You don’t pick winners and losers or have to explain to this group why you brought it up to this group. So that doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Schumer said Senate Democrats are supporting both Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. and Senator Benray Lujan, D.N.M., said he would support bills that would fund the program. Lujan’s bill, unveiled earlier this week, would also fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Lujan argued that the administration changed course from the previous plan that funded SNAP.

“It’s a bull—-” he said. “Coming from a small farm, I can say I know the difference between good soil and a bull. And this bull is destroying these plans to try to lie to the American people and justify why it’s okay for 40 million people to go hungry.”

Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the Parliament has the same desire for such laws.

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., held a press conference with Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee to demand that the Trump administration tap SNAP emergency funding before Nov. 1.

TRUMP ADMIN WARNES 42 MILLION AMERICANS COULD LOSE FOOD STAMPS IF THE SHUTDOWN IS CONTINUED

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) doubled down on his stance against one-shot bills during the shutdown. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

When asked by Fox News Digital if he was coordinating with the Senate on GOP- or Democrat-led bills, Neguse said, “I know the proposals, and I know many of my colleagues have also proposed bills in the House. Those conversations will continue.”

But “ultimately,” he said, “there is no need for legislation to be passed to release these funds. It is the law.”

“The Trump administration is required to release these funds today. That’s why the administration is currently embroiled in a federal lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts, and I think it will ultimately be successful,” Neguse said.

Still, Senate Republicans argue that the best way to avoid the SNAP funding cliff is to reopen the government, with other paydays and deadlines looming. So far, Schumer and Senate Democrats have voted 13 times against reopening the government as the shutdown moves toward breaking the 35-day record set in the history books in 2019.

This also runs counter to the previous stance held by Democrats in Congress. For example, when lawmakers were tasked with preventing another shutdown in 2023, Schumer warned that millions of New Yorkers would be left without food benefits if the funding was not extended.

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Fast forward to now, and Schumer shrugged off responsibility for the ongoing shutdown and the possibility that SNAP benefits would fall on Republicans.

“We’re saying Republicans can fund this now and they’re using these people as hostages, that’s the answer from now on,” Schumer said. “The answer is, they can fund it right now.”