Yasin Gungor
04 November 2025•Update: 04 November 2025
ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that food assistance benefits will be provided only when Democrats agree to end the government shutdown, criticizing the previous administration's expansion of the program.
"SNAP benefits ... will be given only when the radical left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
He accused former President Joe Biden of expanding the program, arguing he “handed" benefits to anyone who sought them, as opposed to those in need.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump "is referring to future SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) payments. He does not want to have to keep tapping into an emergency fund, depleting it. In the case of a catastrophe in this country, he wants to have those funds preserved."
She maintained that the president is "fully complying" with a court order that mandated the administration use a contingency account to make SNAP benefit payments, but said the fund totals just $5 billion, while all benefits under the program cost $9 billion.
The comments came as roughly 42 million Americans lost benefits over the weekend following the lapse of the assistance program due to a US government shutdown, which is on day 35.
US Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic effort on Monday to restore full funding for SNAP.
"If Democrats really wanted to help struggling families, they'd stop blocking a clean continuing resolution," said Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso.
The Trump administration announced on Monday that it will release emergency funds to cover half of November's food assistance benefits, following court orders.
The administration previously said it would not use emergency funds because it wanted to preserve money for natural disasters and other emergencies, and claimed it did not have authorization to spend the funds.
