Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is blaming President Donald Trump for the impact on food stamps of the government shutdown, accusing him of “withholding the money because he wants to inflict maximum pain on Americans.”
While Senate Democrats continue to vote against the House-passed clean continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government, Booker took to social media to call on Trump to release Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) money to “pay for children, for vulnerable people, for our neighbors to eat.”
“Right now, the Trump administration has sent out notices to every single state, including New Jersey, that they are going to stop paying SNAP payments,” Booker said in a video posted to X. “Now look, they have billions of dollars at their behest to pay SNAP. But they’re saying that they don’t.”
The senator’s video cited an article from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities arguing that SNAP’s governing agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), should drain its contingency fund to pay for the welfare program when funding runs out on November 1.
The USDA, run by Trump appointee Sec. Brooke Rollins, has “nearly two-thirds of the funds needed for a full month of benefits” in its contingency fund, the center wrote, adding that the administration “must release those funds immediately as SNAP law requires, to ensure that families can put food on the table next month.”
“SNAP is a lifeline for 42 million Americans, disproportionately children, to pay for food assistance for them,” Booker continued. “In my state, over 850,000 people rely on SNAP payments. Donald Trump is withholding the money because he wants to inflict maximum pain on Americans to hope it helps him politically.”
“Well, this isn’t about politics, this is about people. This is urgent. So please stand with me to make sure that Donald Trump releases the money to pay for children, for vulnerable people, for our neighbors to eat,” he said. “Stop spreading lies about what you can’t do and do what you must do. This is about who we are as a people and what we stand for.”
As Democrat leaders continue to reject negotiations from the GOP on passing a CR, Senate Republicans are discussing voting on a bill introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that would fund SNAP for the duration of the shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters this week that senators were discussing “some options,” noting that nothing had been scheduled yet, Politico reported.
“If they don’t give it a vote then I’m going to take it to the floor and try to UC it or UC a vote agreement,” Hawley said of his bill, referring to seeking unanimous consent from the Senate.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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