(NewsNation) — Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says SNAP benefits will be suspended this weekend after her department has exhausted “every possible avenue” during the continuing government shutdown.
“The fact that the Democrats are playing games with those who are most vulnerable is particularly rich right now … 12 different times the Democrats have voted to keep the government closed,” Rollins told NewsNation.
According to the Trump administration, funding will run out for the food assistance program that is relied upon by 42 million Americans to supplement their grocery bills.
Federal food benefits and preschool aid to run dry starting Saturday if shutdown continues
The administration rejected using more than $5 billion in contingency funds to keep SNAP flowing into November. Rollins stated the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t have the legal authority to dip into the fund.
“Beginning from almost Day 1, we at USDA and our Office of Management and Budget have said, ‘SNAP is going to run out on November 1,'” added Rollins. “It’s a $9.2 billion monthly program. There’s no possible way that we can Band-Aid and duct tape this deal past the end of October.”
Furthering the difficulty of the situation, House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday dismissed any standalone bills seeking to pay federal workers or fund assistance programs during the government shutdown.
Federal judge indefinitely blocks Trump shutdown layoffs
Democratic officials across 25 states sued the Trump administration as a means to prevent the program from drying up.
“The agency cannot simply suspend all benefits indefinitely while refusing to spend funds from available appropriations for SNAP benefits for eligible households,” the lawsuit argues.
Some states have pledged to keep the benefits flowing even if the federal program halts payments. However, a memo from the USDA said states would not be reimbursed for temporarily picking up the cost.
SNAP helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries using debit cards normally loaded each month by the federal government.
