Donald Trump and his party have a problem. They used the spending authority to pay the troops, but refuse to use that same authority to provide SNAP assistance to 41.7 million children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
The Department of Agriculture has a $5 billion contingency fund that it could use to finance the program in November. The department’s 2026 budget plan confirmed that the USDA has the authority to release the funds.
The Trump administration removed the 2026 budget plan from the USDA website and issued new guidance stating that the funds could not be released.
However, the government used the same authority to pay military personnel.
SNAP is a mandatory entitlement program that has its own emergency fund appropriated by Congress.
The USDA used to have that too accompaniment on its website, it admitted that Congress intended the program to continue even during a government shutdown: “Congress’ intent is clear that SNAP operations should continue.”
The emergency funds that Trump is refusing to release were created “to ensure that the state can continue operations during a federal government shutdown.”
The Republicans and the Trump administration cannot defend this sudden and unjustified reversal, so they have decided to get angry.
Speaker Mike Johnson has painted his party into a corner. Senate Democrats have proposed legislation to force the release of SNAP and WIC funds, but since Johnson shut down the House of Representatives and refuses to bring it back into session, he has applied a nonsensical double standard for why Republicans are going to starve people.
Read more below and watch Johnson’s video.
