By The nation’s largest food aid program will only resume in full when ‘Radical Left Democrats’ open the government, President Donald Trump wrote Tuesday on social media.
Trump posted about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on his Truth Social platform, saying that the benefits, meant to be a lifeline for low-income households, were given out too freely under former President Joe Biden, sending costs skyrocketing.
‘SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly ‘handed’ to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!’ the president’s post read.
Trump’s post comes as funding for the program was set to expire over the weekend as the government shutdown entered its second month.
On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., signaled that the expiration of funding may not be enough to persuade Democrats to end the government shutdown.
When asked if Democrats voting for the GOP federal funding bill would be the most prudent way to fix that, he said, ‘No.’
The Trump administration told a federal judge on Monday that it will partially resume SNAP benefits for the month of November despite the ongoing government shutdown, though when the payments will be distributed — and how much beneficiaries will receive — remains to be seen.
A senior Trump administration official told the court in a sworn declaration that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allocate $4.65 billion of its $5 billion contingency fund to keep the SNAP program funded for the month of November.
SNAP supports more than 40 million Americans and has come under recent attention over how expansive the program has become and to the administration’s push to ensure illegal immigrants aren’t among its recipients.
The program was among the first that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins targeted for review, citing concerns about eligibility and oversight.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently pushed new legislation seeking special funding for farmers and food assistance programs amid the government shutdown. The legislation would reinstate federal funding for the Farm Service Agency and SNAP.
‘We need to start forcing Democrats to make some tough votes. We need to start holding their feet to the fire,’ Hawley said in an interview with Fox News Digital last month. ‘I mean, do they really not want people to be able to eat? This situation is ridiculous.’
Fox News Digital reached out to Hawley’s office for comment on Trump’s most recent post about SNAP but did not immediately hear back.
Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias, Elizabeth Elkind, Breanne Deppisch and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.