Democrats seize on Trump administration’s efforts to fight food stamp payments

The Trump administration’s legal battle against fully funding food stamps during the government shutdown has sparked fierce criticism from Democrats, who accuse the president of being indifferent to the plight of vulnerable Americans.

“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.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, escalated the rhetoric on social media, stating: “Donald Trump is literally fighting in court to ensure Americans starve. HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU.”

These comments followed the Supreme Court’s late Friday decision to grant the administration’s emergency appeal, temporarily blocking a court order that would have required full funding of SNAP food aid payments during the shutdown. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program serves approximately one in eight Americans, primarily those with lower incomes.

A federal judge had previously given the administration until Friday to make the payments. However, the administration asked an appeals court to suspend orders requiring it to spend more money than what’s available in a contingency fund, preferring to proceed with planned partial SNAP payments instead.

This legal confrontation comes at a sensitive time for Republicans, who suffered significant losses during recent elections. Democrats secured substantial victories across the ballot, with economic concerns emerging as voters’ primary worry—a troubling sign for the president and his party ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

The White House has indicated plans to adjust its messaging strategy toward affordability issues, emphasizing new tax breaks and highlighting progress on inflation. However, the administration’s position on food stamps could undermine these efforts.

As the longest government shutdown in U.S. history continues, both parties have attempted to shift blame. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October found approximately 60% of Americans believe Trump and Congressional Republicans bear significant responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% said the same about Congressional Democrats. At least three-quarters of respondents felt both sides deserved at least moderate blame.

The White House did not respond to questions about its rationale for appealing the SNAP orders to the Supreme Court or concerns about public perception of fighting against full payments.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins defended the administration’s position on Fox News, blaming Democrats for refusing to vote to reopen the government and arguing that funding must come from Congress. “We can’t just create money out of the sky,” she said. “You can’t just create money to fund a program that Congress refuses to fund.”

While hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain furloughed without paychecks, the president has selectively ensured payment for certain groups. Trump directed the Pentagon to use “all available funds” to pay U.S. troops, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed to have found a way to pay Coast Guard personnel and law enforcement officers within her department. FBI Director Kash Patel has stated that FBI special agents continue receiving pay, though other bureau employees do not. The administration has not disclosed the sources of these funds.

Trump has consistently expressed skepticism about SNAP. In a social media post Tuesday, he announced the administration would withhold SNAP benefits until the shutdown ended, suggesting some recipients don’t truly need assistance. Hours later, press secretary Karoline Leavitt contradicted this, stating the administration would distribute partial benefits using contingency funding “that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war.”

When asked about a judge’s order to make full payments, Trump deferred to Vice President JD Vance, who called the ruling “absurd” because “you have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the midst of a Democrat government shutdown.” Trump added that the country “has to remain very liquid because problems, catastrophes, wars, could be anything. We can’t give everything away.”

The administration has faced multiple lawsuits from Democratic-leaning states, nonprofits, and cities regarding SNAP benefits. Two judges separately ordered the government to maintain payments, ruling that the administration couldn’t skip November benefits entirely. The judges directed the government to use an emergency reserve fund containing over $4.6 billion for payments, which typically cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion monthly.

After the administration announced it would cover only 65% of the maximum monthly benefit, a judge ruled this insufficient and mandated full program funding for November. The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal, arguing the judge had overstepped legislative and executive authority. When a higher court upheld the Friday payment deadline, the administration appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, through an order signed by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, agreed to suspend the full-payment requirement until 48 hours after the appeals court rules on a longer-term pause.

This ongoing legal battle has left millions of Americans who depend on food aid in confusing limbo, with beneficiaries in some states receiving full benefits while others remain waiting.