Trump threatens food assistance as US government shutdown drags on

The US authorities shutdown entered its 35th time connected Tuesday, equalling the longest successful the country’s history.

United States President Donald Trump has claimed helium volition lone supply nutrition assistance to low-income Americans erstwhile the authorities shutdown ends, appearing to defy 2 tribunal orders demanding helium escaped up contingency funds to support the nutrient assistance strategy operational.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves 1 successful 8 Americans each month, was acceptable to frost connected November 1, aft the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said connected October 10 that it would not beryllium capable to money the programme if the shutdown continued.

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The US authorities shutdown entered its 35th time connected Tuesday, equalling the longest successful the country’s history.

Last week, national judges successful the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island doled retired separate but akin rulings that told the national authorities to screen the benefits by drafting from contingency funds. Following the rulings, the Trump medication said connected Monday that it would partially money the country’s flagship nutrient assistance scheme, falling backmost connected astir $5bn acceptable speech successful exigency reserves.

However, the president appeared to locomotion backmost his administration’s plans with a station connected Truth Social connected Tuesday, saying helium would lone money SNAP erstwhile the authorities reopens.

“SNAP BENEFITS, which accrued by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous word successful bureau (Due to the information that they were haphazardly “handed” to anyone for the asking, arsenic opposed to conscionable those successful need, which is the intent of SNAP!), volition beryllium fixed lone erstwhile the Radical Left Democrats unfastened up government, which they tin easy do, and not before!” the president posted connected Tuesday morning.

SNAP, known colloquially arsenic nutrient stamps, costs much than $8bn to deploy monthly. A idiosyncratic successful the programme receives an mean of astir $190 each month, portion a household receives an mean monthly payment of $356 successful groceries. The benefits are typically loaded onto debit cards.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to contradict the president’s societal media station connected Tuesday afternoon, saying the medication is “fully complying with the tribunal order”, but that releasing the funds volition not beryllium a speedy process.

“The recipients of these SNAP benefits request to recognize [that] it’s going to instrumentality immoderate clip to person this money,” Leavitt said. “The president does not privation to person to proceed to dip into a contingency money that doesn’t adjacent person capable money, by the way, to money the afloat programme.”

The USDA connected Monday said that, successful airy of the ruling by US District Judge John McConnell successful Rhode Island, 1 of the judges to initially bid the medication to money SNAP, it would usage the contingency backing to wage SNAP recipients 50 percent of their emblematic allotment, calling it a “cumbersome process” that would effect successful delayed benefits.

Lawyers astatine the wide ineligible radical Democracy Forward, successful a question connected Tuesday, told McConnell that the USDA’s connection astir delays demonstrated that the medication had failed to resoluteness the “burdens” entailed by making lone partial benefits available.

“Time is of the essence erstwhile it comes to hunger,” the lawyers wrote.

Leavitt repeatedly branded the shutdown arsenic a Democrat-led endeavour successful her quality league connected Tuesday, claiming that the enactment is consenting to wounded the state to people governmental points.

“The Democrats are intentionally hurting American families, businesses and workers with this shutdown to combat for escaped healthcare for amerciable aliens to appease their extremist left-wing base,” she said.

More than 42 cardinal Americans trust connected nutrient assistance. Until court-ordered to bash so, the Trump medication had said it would not usage exigency funds to prop up the programme.

The US government shutdown began connected October 1 erstwhile Democrats and Republicans failed to hold connected a backing bill. Since then, some parties person failed 14 times to hold connected a stopgap backing measure.

On Tuesday, the Senate voted 54-44 against a “clean” continuing resolution, which had passed the House of Representatives, that would person funded the authorities done November 21.

Democrats clasp a number successful some houses of Congress, and they are trying to usage the spending measure to unit Republicans to negociate connected captious healthcare spending.

Democrats privation Congress to widen expiring subsidies earlier the US healthcare enrolment play begins successful November and reverse cuts to Medicaid assistance for low-income radical and those with disabilities.