An animated Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) unleashed on Democrats on Wednesday over food stamp funding that’s set to run dry on Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown.
The normally mild-mannered Midwesterner shouted a deluge of criticism on the floor against Democrats for seeking to pass a stand-alone measure for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other federal food aid after having opposed a “clean” GOP stopgap bill 13 times in recent weeks to reopen the government.
“SNAP recipients shouldn’t go without food. People should be getting paid in this country. And we tried to do that 13 times! You voted ‘no’ 13 times!” Thune charged on the shutdown’s 29th day. “This isn’t a political game. These are real people’s lives we’re talking about, and you all have just figured out, 29 days in, that, ‘Oh, there might be some consequences?’”
Thune blocked an effort by Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) to pass a funding carveout for SNAP and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which some GOP senators have also advocated be funded during the shutdown. Thune went on to condemn Democrats for what he called a “cynical attempt to provide political cover” before Luján offered a reaction.
“I get in trouble sometimes because I use language from that little farm that I still call home, but I’ve learned the rules of decorum on the Senate floor, so I won’t use them today,” responded Luján, who hours earlier characterized the GOP’s position on food stamps as “bulls***.”
Following his broadside on the floor, Thune told reporters that he expected to soon meet with rank-and-file Senate Democrats on ending the shutdown. “They’re looking for an off-ramp,” he told reporters, according to Politico. “What I told them all along is, as soon as they’re ready to open up the government, that we will ensure that they have a process whereby they can have the chance to get their legislation voted on, their policies voted on. I think they’ve become more interested, and I hope that’s continues.”
The tense exchange marked the latest episode of heightened partisan tensions over the expiring aid received by 42 million Americans.
Earlier that day, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) denied his party bears any responsibility for the forthcoming food stamp lapse and accused President Donald Trump of purposefully “weaponizing” the funding. He made the case that Democrats should be spared blame, even as they withhold the votes to overcome a filibuster and reopen the government over demands to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies.
“We are saying the Republicans can fund it now, and they’re using these people as hostages, plain and simple,” Schumer told reporters. “The answer is they can fund it right now. Right now. And by the way, we don’t want to pit healthcare and food. They do. We think you can have both.”
Congressional Republicans and the White House maintain the fastest and easiest way to ensure SNAP and WIC benefits continue flowing is to reopen the government, at which point they say negotiations will commence on the health insurance credits set to expire at year’s end. With no end to the shutdown on the horizon, and Trump’s apparent refusal to tap into emergency money like he did during his first term, the food aid funding is all but certain to lapse Saturday for the first time in modern history.
The impending lapse is the latest pressure point in the shutdown saga that Trump and some administration officials, such as White House budget chief Russell Vought, have used as additional leverage over Democrats, including thousands of permanent layoffs in the federal workforce rather than temporary furloughs. Democratic attorneys general and governors in more than two dozen states have sued the Department of Agriculture for saying it won’t use $5 billion in contingency funds to keep the food aid flowing.
As further evidence that the administration was seeking to inflict maximum shutdown pain, Schumer noted that the USDA in 2019, during the previous shutdown that occurred in Trump’s first term, tapped into an emergency tranche to keep SNAP afloat. The refusal to now use the money is reminiscent of the warnings Schumer offered in March when he sided with Republicans to prevent a shutdown.
“Trump is weaponizing hunger. He’s turning millions of children and seniors and veterans into political pawns. He’s choosing politics over people, cruelty over compassion,” Schumer said. “And let’s be clear about this: they’ve been on a crusade. The Republicans have been on a crusade against SNAP all year.”
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FALLOUT SHIFTS FROM FEDERAL WORKERS TO WELFARE RECIPIENTS
Trump initially seemed inclined to prevent any SNAP lapse, saying last week that “everybody is going to be in good shape.” On Tuesday, he stated the administration would “get it done” before pivoting to say Democrats must end the shutdown.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Schumer’s remarks.
Christian Datoc contributed to this report.
