Both Republicans and Democrats blame each other for the loss.
By Catholics for Catholics
The government shutdown may turn into the hunger games.
Due to the second-largest government shutdown, almost 42 million people are on the verge of losing their food stamps, as Republicans and Democrats continue to trade barbs and lay blame on each other during a legislative showdown in which neither side is backing down.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more colloquially known as food stamps, is set to lapse starting this Saturday. Until now, neither party is showing signs they will blink, according to The Washington Times.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision last week not to draw on an emergency fund to pay for part of November’s SNAP benefits is splitting senators, as Democrats argue the agency is legally required to spend roughly $5.5 billion in contingency funds to maintain at least a portion of the benefits.
“The Trump administration is weaponizing hunger as a political bargaining chip,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat overseeing food aid funding. “When it comes down to it, this is a choice.”
Republicans are countering, saying Senate Democrats are to blame for the shutdown because most have voted 13 times against a stopgap bill to reopen the government, called a “CR” or continuing resolution, to force concessions from the Republican majority on healthcare issues.
The victims of Schumer's Shameful Shutdown:
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) October 21, 2025
🚜 Farmers who can't access local FSA offices during harvest
👩🍼Women, infants, and children whose nutrition assistance is at risk
🍎 The SNAP program that will run out of funds in November
Democrats are holding Americans hostage.… pic.twitter.com/apCOALoEwg
According to The Washington Times, SNAP, which once served just a small part of U.S. families, has grown colossally in recent years, putting it at the center of a spending impasse that threatens to cut off millions of people from federally funded grocery money this Saturday.
“Millions of hungry kids and working families are about to lose SNAP benefits to buy food because Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Agriculture to rip up its own contingency plan,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Tuesday.
But Lisa McClain, Chair of the House Republican Conference Committee Chair of Michigan said Tuesday: “Let that sink in. Forty-two million Americans will lose their SNAP benefits this Saturday because Democrats want to use them as leverage.”
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