President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the federal government will not speed up Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for November, prompting White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to clean up his remarks during her briefing later that day.
The Trump administration has drawn criticism in recent weeks for placing SNAP benefits at the center of the government shutdown fight, saying the government could not use contingency funds to keep the program afloat starting Saturday.
However, last week, U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the administration to fulfill November SNAP payments at least partially. On Monday, Agriculture Department officials said they would allocate more than $4 billion in contingency funds toward SNAP, covering roughly 50% of eligible beneficiaries, in compliance with the order.
However, Trump broke from the USDA in a Tuesday post on Truth Social.
The president said SNAP “increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars” under the Biden administration, “due to the fact that they were haphazardly ‘handed’ to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need.”
November payments “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up the government, which they can easily do, and not before,” he concluded.
Leavitt, asked about Trump’s post Tuesday afternoon, told reporters that the administration is abiding by the court order and suggested that Trump was simply trying to pressure Democrats regarding the ongoing shutdown.
“I just spoke to the president about it. The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take some time to receive this money, because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position,” she stated, noting that the USDA contingency fund won’t cover SNAP’s full payment sheet for the month. “The best way to get the full amount of SNAP benefits to those beneficiaries is for Democrats to reopen the government.”
“If you are at home and you want your SNAP benefits, call the Democrats and tell them to reopen the government,” Leavitt continued. “The president is referring to future SNAP payments. He does not want to have to keep tapping in to an emergency fund and depleting it, and, in the case of a catastrophe in this country, he wants to have those funds preserved as they should be.”
USDA officials declined to comment on Trump’s post.
LOOMING SNAP DEADLINE AMPS UP SHUTDOWN PRESSURE ON BOTH TRUMP AND DEMOCRATS
Just one hour before Trump’s statement, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA sent SNAP guidance to states and offered “immediate technical assistance” on the contingency fund payments.
“This will be a cumbersome process, including revised eligibility systems, State notification procedures, and ultimately, delayed benefits for weeks, but we will help States navigate those challenges,” she wrote. “Challenges caused by Senate Democrats’ refusal to reopen the government. Another vote is this morning. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO DO THE RIGHT THING! If the government opens, families get their FULL benefit much more quickly.”
