Today is the 27th day of the federal government’s shutdown. I read some analysis of what’s happening behind-the-scenes, and I generally agree with this: Trump and his minions believed that Democrats would capitulate enough to give Republicans a somewhat broad win. Republicans didn’t expect Democrats to hold the line, be the adults in the room, and sit back as Republican voters got exactly what they voted for. The public largely blames Trump and the MAGA GOP for the shutdown as well. The negativity directed at the MAGA lunatics is going to get even louder if MAGA doesn’t make a deal. All SNAP benefits run out on November 1st. No food assistance for anyone, including white Republicans. Of course, the goal is to make everyone suffer, and they will suffer – millions of Americans, of all races, ages and political affiliation use SNAP benefits. We’re one of the richest countries in the world and millions of people are food-insecure, if not starving.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday that food benefits under one of the country’s biggest social assistance programs will not be issued next month amid the ongoing federal government shutdown. The shutdown is now in its 25th day, with Republicans and Democrats in Congress remaining at an impasse over how to fund and reopen the federal government.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a post on its website. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”
More than 41 million depend on the monthly payments, according to the USDA. In some states, like New Mexico, dependence on the program is as high as 21% of residents, it said.
The agency’s announcement came after more than 200 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday called on USDA to draw on its emergency reserves to fund November food benefits. However, according to a memo seen by Reuters, the department indicated that it would not do so.
Governors in Louisiana and Virginia declared states of emergencies this week to make funds available to help with hunger relief in anticipation of SNAP benefits not being issued next month.
I’m not expecting some big come-to-Jesus moment for Republicans. It will be similar to what’s happened with American farmers, the majority of whom voted for Trump and Republicans. Trump’s tariffs and sh-thole policies have completely devastated American farmers. But instead of swearing off Republicans and understanding the correlation between their votes and the damage done to their industry, they’re now just begging for Daddy Don to bail them out. It will largely be the same with the Republican voters on food stamps – there will be outrage, hopefully enough to end the shutdown, but those people will still worship Trump.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he prepares to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. The President is embarking on a three nation trip to Asia, where he hopes to sign economic and mineral agreements with US trading partners and meet President Xi Jinping of China. Featuring: President Donald Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 24 Oct 2025 Credit: Francis Chung/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he prepares to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. The President is embarking on a three nation trip to Asia, where he hopes to sign economic and mineral agreements with US trading partners and meet President Xi Jinping of China. Featuring: President Donald Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 24 Oct 2025 Credit: Francis Chung/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he prepares to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. The President is embarking on a three nation trip to Asia, where he hopes to sign economic and mineral agreements with US trading partners and meet President Xi Jinping of China. Featuring: President Donald Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 24 Oct 2025 Credit: Francis Chung/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
There won’t be enough food banks to fill the gap. They’re already strained. People are being advised to stock up on non-perishables this week. Expect crowded grocery stores. The American people are being told to choose between food and health care since if the Dems caved, health care premiums in the ACA rise dramatically. People voted for this sadism.
Just to be clear, we should still support food banks because, inadequate as they are to the problem, they do help people access food. Donate, if you can!
Doug Ford’s little advert couldn’t have come at a better time for Diaper Don. Have an epic tantrum over an epic commercial to distract, yet again, from what’s really going, and not going on. No inflation stats, no government, no money and no food for the most marginalized American tax payers. Blame Canada for the tarrifs and failing American farms, blame the Dems for the GOPs shortcomings and Gavin Newsom for everything else. Tear down the East Wing without permission (isn’t the White House a protected historical building) and give the ballroom contract to a friend. Nothing to see here. And, yes, support your local food bank. It’s not socialism, it’s the right thing to do.
But but but my big beautiful ballroom! And Trump Whitehouse hotel! Won’t anyone think of ME and the amazingly beautiful things I’m given to America! /s
I had to go to Costco yesterday and it was an absolute zoo. This was 4 in the afternoon and I had to park in the very last row.
Grocery stores are also going to feel it once they see a decrease in foot traffic.
I agree. The people who voted for this will never get it and realize republicans never have and never will GAF about them
I love a costco- but i cannot handle the amount of people, and the lines
(and hte organized person inside me hates that there is no store map and you have to wander to find what you need)
But costco 2 day delivery- is the best thing ever.
I had just made a costco order for my household, but last week i made another one, of non-perishable food items to drop off at a local charity who feeds people through their program.
Some charities have an amazon wish list too where you can send non-perishable food directly to the charity location.
I didn’t vote for this.
People who are real christians needs to take christianity back from maga/evangelicals.
Those who use the religions to condemn, judge, feel superior. But never follow any of the teachings of jesus.
Feed the hungry, help the sick, care for the poor- whose crazy hippie idea was that? Oh, Jesus, yeah, they didn’t read that part.
The GOP really thinks starving the middle class and poor, and giving huge tax breaks to billionaires is the way our country should be run.
Trump is curing hunger, homelessness and poverty by killing off those who need help. What remains of this country will be run by the wealthy, for the wealthy who do not need insurance for health care or any of societies safety nets. When the poor are eliminated who will cook their meals or clean their mansions?
Bingo. He wants us dead by any means – starvation, no medical care, National Guard, etc.
For every meal provided by food banks and the charitable hunger relief network, SNAP provides 9. Food banks can’t fill that gap, even if we try. As you said, everyone is going to suffer.
Even if you have a balance on your SNAP card…you STILL won’t be able to use those funds😪 The reason why this didn’t happen during the POS 🤬 first term during the shutdown was because the Dems had the majority in the House & they used the emergency contingency funds available…but the Republicans said they wouldn’t…letting the Republicans get the majority in the House during Biden’s last 2 years & 2024 is as DETRIMENTAL as having that Trogloydyte in the Whitehouse 💔🇺🇸💔
Presumably, Magats on SNAP know they’re on it which makes their vote for Trump all the more mystifying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That is inaccurate. When the funds are disbursed they are on the card and can be used. However, the likelihood of people having much on their cards after a month is slim.
LEven if you have a balance on your SNAP card…you STILL won’t be able to use those funds“
— That doesn’t sound right. The balance is on the card, not with the government.
Per my state’s website: ‘As long as retailers remain authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to accept SNAP, you can continue to use any benefits currently on your EBT card.’
But will the USDA authorize these retailers? The head of the USDA is a trump lackey, after all.
The USDA has not rescinded authorization from any SNAP retailers and they will not do so. The process to be an authorized EBT vendor is long and complex. Were they to pull authorization, they would have to reauthorize every retailer out there which they will not do. If the $$ is on the card, it can be spent.
I hate that this is the only way the MAGAts are going to learn that SNAP & WIC recipients aren’t just the unemployed unmarried fat minority women with 15 kids that Fox News keeps insisting they are (gah I feel dirty just from typing that!). All of us have friends and neighbors who might even be working full time but still need SNAP & WIC assistance and this is going to have disastrous effect on recipients of every background in every corner of this country.
Presumably, Magats on SNAP know they’re on it which makes their Trump vote all the more mystifying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Is it called SNAP in every state? For example, not food assistance, but the ACA healthcare plans in Oklahoma are called “SoonerCare” and I read accounts/comments of MAGAts on SoonerCare who thought it was hilarious that “Obamacare” was being cut or increasing premiums and had no idea that they were actually going to be the ones to pay the price or lose it.
Well, it’s food assistance which helps you buy your groceries. I know some of them are dumb as a box of rocks, but the connection to SNAP benefits should be clear. The confusion over “Obamacare” and the Affordable Care Act notwithstanding.
Sorry about posting my comment twice and once in the wrong place. Thought I deleted that. 🫣
MAGA “thought leaders” are out in force today all over social media telling their brainwashed minions that SNAP beneficiaries are mostly illegal immigrants from Muslim nations who despise western civilization but are happy to take from them so they’re all excited about cutting SNAP.
SNAP’s biggest beneficiaries are American FARMERS
The MAGA message is very mixed on this issue. They are demonizing SNAP recipients, as you say, but also demonizing Dems by saying they are denying babies, children, and moms much needed food because they are trying to get “illegals” health insurance. So, I’m not exactly sure how this lands with their base, much less the general public. 🤔
Not to mention the small grocery stores that depend on SNAP for a majority of their sales will close, exacerbating food deserts.
@Fancypants, yes it is SNAP in every state. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Lots of our military members & their families rely on SNAP.
KKKaroline announcing that the tacky ass ballroom is Trump’s main priority while people are going to starve next month is some Hunger Games dystopian shit.
And yeah, MAGA will still blame the Dem-o-crats. Their ability to think critically does not exist.
Social programs like SNAP are welfare programs for employers who refuse to pay a livng wage to their employees. Most recipients of working age are employed in low wage jobs.
🎯
Thank you! There’s an infuriating video circulating on social media of some Karen eating food while asking: “well what did you do with last month’s SNAP benefits? Did you stretch them out to last next month?” No dumb ass! They are monthly benefits so they used last month’s to buy food for last month.
Apparently the backlash was so swift she had to turn off the comments and she may be losing her employment.
People are such assholes and deliberately clueless. I am so tired of them.
I think I saw a clip of that video and just laughed. I don’t know how people think this callous cruelty is going to go down long term as things deteriorate. I wouldn’t want my face and name out there provoking sh*t as people get angrier and more desperate. Lots of guns lying around in this country, after all, and the public doesn’t have the benefit of a SS chaperone.
I am sorry for the starvation for the US.
Unfortunately I saw videos of MAGA who are not sorry, and they believe that is just a phase,and after everything will be better, and people who cry because they are impacted directly, but when they voted didn’t think about it twice…
Is there any way you can use pictures of something besides his face in these stories? Maybe an orange? He turns my stomach, plus it’s a real jumpscare in the mornings.
FAFO season is approaching for many dt voters. Hunger, disease, and the threat of homelessness will be an eye-opener. A bit too late…
MAGA are calling it the Democrat shut-down. So, yes, Trump et al will avoid all responsibility as usual.
The crucial part a lot of folks are overlooking is that there’s plenty of money in the contingency funds that can keep the food assistance programs going during a shutdown.
FELON47 AND HIS MINIONS ARE REFUSING TO USE THOSE FUNDS DESPITE THEIR AVAILABILITY.
They are totally fine taking the food out of the mouths of hungry children, in order to try to force millions of people off healthcare, including those same children.
They are all, at this point, committing moral, and probably legal, crimes against Americans.
Thank you for pointing this out. When people start stealing food because they and their children are hungry, he will declare a national emergency in response to an increase in “crime” which is totally a problem of his own making. He wants an excuse to declare Martial Law and cancel elections.
The Trump USDA is lying. The well has not run dry. As Heather Cox Richardson has pointed out in her newsletter, the government has emergency funds to cover SNAP benefits. It is simply choosing not to use them, holding the American public hostage, while it takes a wrecking ball to democracy and to the White House.
Unfortunately the union representing federal workers turned on the Dems today, saying they should
back down so federal workers can go back to work. The Republicans, not surprisingly, are making a meal of it. I honestly believe people are going to start to blame the democrats for the shutdown and they will cave.
Why oh why can’t the Democrats actually have clear and unified messaging? I feel
like these MAGA voters just believe what they hear the most. Why can’t we take over social media and use the algorithms better than these right-wingers? I mean, I know it’s mostly controlled by Zuckerberg and Musk, but is there no way to reach these people?
“the union”?
Which one?
Your statements are not clear to me.
I found it on the Government Executive website. It’s the American Federation of Government Employees.
That plus the Federal News Network are two good sources for federal employees.
I think it was AFGE. And in some respects they’re not wrong; their job is to protect the federal employees which means making sure we get paid. But there’s a bigger picture here as well.
I actually think the Dems’ messaging here has been pretty clear – they dont want to agree to reopen the government even temporarily bc they know the Rs will go back on their word. There’s a reason mike johnson seems to be spinning out of control despite his smug face. Polls show that more Americans blame the Rs for this than the Dems. Massachusetts changed their SNAP website to notify recipients that there will be no funds as of November 1 because of the Republicans. I hope more Dem states do the same.
The Pennsylvania site says the following, “Because Republicans in Washington D.C., failed to pass a federal budget, causing the federal government shutdown, November 2025 SNAP benefits cannot be paid. Starting October 16, SNAP benefits will not be paid until the federal government shutdown ends and funds are released to PA. We will notify SNAP recipients when payments can resume, and we will let you know when to expect SNAP payments.”
I think there’s been a very clear Democratic message lately: we won’t agree to taking away people’s health care.
They’re pretty unified in the messaging about the healthcare benefits, and it was smart to let this drag out to the point where states had to start releasing 2026 healthcare numbers without the subsidies. Now people are seeing the reality of what 17 million people will be faced with in January if they’re allowed the cuts.
The union leader didn’t pick out any particular party, but my sympathy is limited. I feel bad for those affected who didn’t vote for this, but the majority did, and that’s just the reality we’re going to have to live with. Abject cruelty is simply the way of being now.
For some reason, this is hitting me so hard. I’ve been upset and angry about everything else, but the situation with SNAP has me close to tears. I’m not on it, I don’t know anyone who is, but I know how many people rely on it and it is breaking my heart that we’re starving people just in time for Thanksgiving. I shouldn’t be surprised, and yet… what the fuck are we even doing anymore?
Between this and his ICE thugs he / his handlers are desparate for the country to revolt so they can declare martial law and cancel the midterms. There is no way they can’t see the optics of people starving while they are building a gold ballroom.
There is a reserve for SNAP. The 🤡 administration is refusing to use this for SNAP.
https://youtu.be/zEfOSVDnzK4?si=FPEapCWb1BJBZZby
I’m disabled and this is how I eat. What’s really nuts is that no one has sent out a letter, my state’s SNAP page doesn’t mention anything (though it does give tips for furloughed feds to apply which just seems… wrong to get hopes up). But if I didn’t follow the news about this it would have been quite the surprise next month. Thanksgiving is going to be rough for so many people