Dem shutdown risks SNAP cuts for 40M Americans—putting illegal alien healthcare over family food security.

Question

Because of the Democrat shutdown, there are not enough funds to provide SNAP for 40 million Americans come Nov 1.

Democrats are putting free healthcare for illegal aliens and their political agenda ahead of food security for American families.

Shameful.

Answer 1

From the sources I gathered, this claim only holds true in the fact that the government is indeed shutdown.  However, the original source comes directly from a X (formally know as Twitter) in which it states the same information.  However, the source seems highly biased and pins the blame solely on the Democratic party.  From the sources I found, there is no evidence to suggest that the government shutdown is solely to blame on the Democratic party.   In fact there is more evidence to pin blame on the Republican party.  For example, CBS reported that "the White House referred CBS News to the USDA, which then shared the letter it sent to states. Both declined to comment on what a lapse in funding could mean for the millions of Americans who rely on the program. Advocates, meanwhile, have warned the effects could be devastating."  Also, the statement above showcases an agenda to shift the blame and focus onto the immigrant situation instead of the pressing food crisis affecting millions of Americans.  

All the sources I collected did confirm the main point about 40 million Americans being affected, however none of them pinned the blame on the Democratic party, instead choosing to leave blame out of it entirely.  Which helps these sources seem less focused on biased opinion and more focused on stating the facts.  As a result, I must conclude that while this does have some confirmed facts, the post in its entirety is biased and misleading.  Choosing to spread hate by shifting the blame & focus onto another topic entirely, one that isn't relevant to the main point its trying to make.  Other than to point fingers. 

Sources:

-  https://time.com/7327270/will-snap-benefits-be-delayed-government-shutdown-food-stamps/

- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-delayed-usda/

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnh3pNmx9o

Original Source:  https://bsky.app/profile/usdagov.bsky.social/post/3m3gbfr3fgs2p

Answer 2

After both Dems and Reps couldn't agree on a funding plan leading to the shutdown on Oct. 1, the USDA sent letters on Oct. 10 to state agencies, telling them not to send certain files to the contractors that would allow EBT cards to be loaded at the start of November. But different states send that information at different points in the month. It is currently unclear what will happen with SNAP, but regardless of the shutdown, SNAP funds can still be distributed.

"Carolyn Vega, the associate director of policy analysis at Share Our Strength, an anti-poverty advocacy group, said that pausing sending the information now doesn’t mean that cards can’t be loaded next month, with or without resumption of government operations. But it’s not good news, either. “The question marks are trending in a bad direction for November,” she said." - APNews, 10/16/2025

The USDA has a "Lapse of Funding" plan, with money for the SNAP program that could be used to cover state administrative expenses during a federal government shutdown. Multiyear contingency funds are also available for times like this, when a lapse of funding occurs in the middle of the fiscal year. 

"However, it's unclear if the USDA plans to utilize those funds to ensure November SNAP benefits. The agency did not respond to CBS News' request for comment on whether that option is under consideration." - CBS News, 10/20/2025

Answer 3

While this claim is true that the SNAP program is at risk due to the government shutdown, the framing of this claim is heavily targeted and implies guilt that isn't exactly correct. According to this article by the BBC, the government shutdown is a result of a disagreement over budget allocation between the two parties. The Democrats feel strongly that budget cuts to the healthcare system are unacceptable and they are holding out for a compromise that allows for the healthcare system to remain intact. While this claim states that this shutdown serves the Democratic political agenda, it seems as though Trump has more to benefit from the shutdown than the democrats. The day before the shutdown he is reported as saying, "we'll be laying off a lot of people." Seeing as one of the first actions he did as president was to instate the "Department of Governmental Efficiency" it seems as though he will be using this as an opportunity to fire more people and advance his agenda. Its clear that some news outlets are pointing the finger directly at Trump although this is a dispute at the senate level. MSNBC's article "How Trump is exploiting the looming food stamps crisis" is accompanied by an embedded video with the headline, "Trump's shutdown to bring increasing pain to Americans." While this could definitely be misleading because the responsibility falls on both parties to reach a compromise, in the end the president is supposed to ensure that his government remains functional and can serve the people. This article from MSNBC claims that Republicans are relying on the food stamp concerns to put pressure on the Democrats to drop their stipulations on healthcare reform in order to end the government shutdown. While the claim is correct that the Democrats are involved, and that SNAP is being put in jeopardy, it frames the Democrats as having something to gain from the government shutdown when according to my research the opposite appears to be true. 

Comments

I love how you brought attention to how critical progams like SNAP are also being affected during the shut down had occurred. I also love how you used direct quotes by Donald trump to help add more evidence to back up your claim.