Tag: poverty

Trump: ‘I Do NOT Want Americans to Go Hungry’ — Seeks Way to Pay SNAP, Gives Out Schumer’s Number

President Donald Trump said Friday he has instructed government lawyers to seek immediate court guidance on how to legally continue payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) amid the ongoing government shutdown, as the program faces imminent funding delays while Democrats refuse to pass a clean spending bill.

“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT.”

The president explained he has instructed lawyers “to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” warning that even with an immediate resolution, benefits may be delayed as states process payments. “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court,” Trump declared, “it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay.”

Several days ago, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that U.S. troops would continue receiving paychecks during the shutdown, following a $130 million private donation accepted by the Department of War to cover military salaries.

The message follows warnings that the Democrat-led shutdown could halt November SNAP payments. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) noted Thursday was the Democrats’ “15th chance” to reopen the government, warning that their continued opposition to a clean continuing resolution would cause benefits to “run dry.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture previously cautioned that it lacks sufficient funds to issue November benefits, with a contingency reserve of $5 billion falling short of the $8 billion needed to sustain the program. Several governors, including Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin (R), have declared emergencies over the looming lapse.

The Washington Post editorial board this week faulted Democrats for prolonging the shutdown, writing that it is “wrong that Democrats have held the government hostage” over demands to extend Obamacare subsidies. The paper warned that if the standoff persists, “families could start to go hungry.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and fellow Democrats, including Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) have argued that Trump could use emergency funds to continue SNAP, claiming he has “billions” at his disposal but is “choosing not to use them.” Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), meanwhile, accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate, stating that “Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House” and should “bring the House back into session to work and negotiate for the people they claim to serve.”

Trump rejected that characterization in his Truth Social message Friday: “The Democrats should quit this charade where they hurt people for their own political reasons, and immediately REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT.”

He ended his post by urging Americans who rely on SNAP to pressure Democrats directly: “Call the Senate Democrats, and tell them to reopen the Government, NOW! Here is Cryin’ Chuck Schumer’s Office Number: (202) 224-6542.”

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President Trump Responds to Judge’s Ruling on SNAP Benefits

President Trump on Friday evening responded to a judge’s ruling on SNAP benefits.

More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits, and the $5 billion emergency fund was not enough to cover the program for November.

Unions and nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture earlier this week ahead of the November 1 cutoff.

Funds for the SNAP benefits are drying up because Schumer and the Democrats refuse to vote for the clean CR bill to reopen the government.

US District Judge John McConnell, an Obama appointee, ordered Trump on Friday to use the emergency funds for the SNAP program.

A separate federal judge in Massachusetts ruled the USDA has the power to fund SNAP benefits.

Separately, Judge Indira Talwani, also an Obama appointee, stopped just short of issuing a Temporary Restraining Order and said she will hold a hearing on Monday.

President Trump said two courts issued conflicting opinions on how the SNAP benefits can be funded during the shutdown, so he instructed DOJ lawyers to ask the court to clarify how his administration can legally fund the program.

“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” President Trump said on Truth Social.

“Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible. It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed through the monthly payment date and, even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out,” Trump said.

President Trump dropped Schumer’s office number!

“If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay. The Democrats should quit this charade where they hurt people for their own political reasons, and immediately REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. If you use SNAP benefits, call the Senate Democrats, and tell them to reopen the Government, NOW! Here is Cryin’ Chuck Schumer’s Office Number: (202) 224-6542,” Trump added.

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Who gets food stamps? Viral chart misleads about SNAP recipients’ race, ethnicity

With millions of people at risk of losing access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1, a viral chart claimed to show the majority of the nation’s food stamp recipients are non-white and noncitizens.

The chart, titled “Food Stamps by Ethnicity,” listed 36 groups of people and said it showed the “percentage of U.S. households receiving SNAP benefits.” 

The groups were labeled by nationality such as “Afghan,” “Somali,” “Iraqi,”  along with the racial groups “white,” “Black” and “native.” The chart appeared to show that Afghan people were the largest group receiving SNAP benefits, at 45.6%, followed by Somali (42.4%) and Iraqi (34.8%). White people, represented on the chart with the American flag, were third to last at 8.6%.

The federal government shutdown, which started Oct. 1, is the cause of the looming SNAP funding lapse. SNAP provides food purchasing benefits to low-income households. Conservatives have peddled the misleading narrative that Democrats are pushing for healthcare for illegal immigrants, and people commenting on the chart rehashed a similar talking point.

“Who is getting their EBT cut,” read the caption of an Oct. 25 X post sharing the chart, which had 3.1 million views as of Oct. 27. EBT stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer, which is a SNAP payment system.

“Only 18.7% of EBT or food stamp recipients are American. Let that sink in…” read another post sharing the chart, seemingly mistakenly referring to the figure next to the word “Armenian”; there was no “American” category in the chart. “We are subsidizing foreigners on the taxpayers dime.”

The chart doesn’t show the full picture of SNAP recipients by race or ethnicity. The most reliable source for the breakdown of SNAP recipients by demographics comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. 

According to the most recent USDA data available, from 2023, white people are the largest racial group receiving SNAP benefits, at 35.4%. African Americans are next, making up 25.7% of recipients, then Hispanic people at 15.6%, Asian people at 3.9%, Native Americans at 1.3% and multiracial people at 1%. The race of 17% of participants is unknown.

The same report found that 89.4% of SNAP recipients were U.S born citizens, meaning less than 11% of SNAP participants were foreign-born. Of the latter figure, 6.2% were naturalized citizens, 1.1% were refugees and 3.3% were other noncitizens, including lawful permanent residents and other eligible noncitizens.

While large shares of the groups listed in the chart may receive food stamps, “they are certainly a tiny share of the households and spending on SNAP,” said Tracy Roof, University of Richmond associate professor of political science.

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Study Reveals Taxpayer Funds Meant to End Homelessness Are Being Used to Fund the Radical Left’s Agenda

A new study has exposed waste and abuse in the industry that is meant to ‘end’ homelessness. It revealed that taxpayer dollars that have been earmarked for this problem have been funneled to radical left wing causes for political reasons.

It actually makes perfect sense. There are lots of people who make a ton of money fighting homelessness. Why would they want the problem to be solved? That would mean an end to their industry.

This is a reminder that progressives do not actually care about the homeless. They see them as a means to an end. A way to fund their preferred political causes.

FOX News reports:

A new study just exposed the corruption behind America’s homelessness crisis

A groundbreaking investigation, “Infiltrated” – backed by more than 50 pages of documentation from the Capital Research Center in cooperation with Discovery Institute – pulls back the curtain on a vast system of corruption. It reveals how billions in taxpayer funds intended to lift people out of homelessness have instead bankrolled radical activism and anti-American political agendas, betraying both the taxpayers who fund it and the homeless they were meant to help…

It exposes how radical networks have quietly embedded themselves within leading homelessness nonprofits, sharing infrastructure, donors and ideology.

What began as a movement rooted in compassion has metastasized into what can only be described as a Homelessness Industrial Complex – a sprawling web of nonprofits, bureaucrats and activists feeding off the very crisis they claim to solve.

They’ve built an empire of corruption draped in “evidence-based” slogans that shield politics, protect paychecks and betray the vulnerable.

The report lays it bare: these networks posture as defenders of America’s homeless, yet in truth, they have become their greatest exploiters, dependent on failure to sustain power.

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Food Lines Are Already Growing Longer All Over America

It is already happening.  There has been a lot of talk that there will be a surge in demand at America’s overwhelmed food banks once funding for the food stamp program ends in early November, but the truth is that we are already witnessing a surge in demand.  So what is going to happen if the current government shutdown persists for an extended period of time?  On one recent evening, the line at a food bank in downtown Kansas City “snaked through the parking lot, down a driveway and into the street”…

On a recent Thursday evening, the line of cars waiting to pick up food at Redemptorist Social Services Center in midtown snaked through the parking lot, down a driveway and into the street.

Demand for free food is soaring across Kansas City, as job cuts increase, food inflation remains persistently high and federal food assistance is slashed by the Trump administration.

Julie McCaw, executive director at Redemptorist, called the situation “alarming.” Families with working parents, senior citizens and people who simply cannot find work increasingly are turning to food pantries like hers for help.

Sadly, this is just the beginning.

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Senate Republicans Reject Bill to Fund SNAP Benefits During Shutdown

Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted down a Democratic bill to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the government shutdown.

As tens of millions of Americans stare down the prospect of going hungry beginning Nov. 1, Senate Republicans rejected a unanimous consent bid by Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) to keep the program funded.

SNAP allows those with low to no income to buy food and beverages at grocery stores.

While this benefit is mandatory—unlike Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—it is funded through appropriations.

SNAP benefits were scheduled to be handed out on Nov. 1, but without government funding, that assistance will not be administered.

An earlier, now-deleted Sept. 30 post from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities titled “Lapse of Funding Plan,” said that SNAP benefits would continue flowing during the shutdown. The agency is now contradicting that earlier memo.

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New Report Exposes Billions in Funding for the ‘Homeless Industrial Complex’

Americans spend billions of dollars to combat homelessness, through donations and taxpayer funding, but the “Homeless Industrial Complex” uses this money for political activism that actually demonizes the policies more likely to solve the crisis, according to a new report.

“Fringe groups in the Homeless Industrial Complex like to characterize homelessness as a symptom of societal injustices, such as systemic racism, police violence, or capitalism,” Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, which released the report, told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday. “Anyone who disagrees with their tried-and-not-true policy recommendations is called uncompassionate or greedy.”

The report, “Infiltrated: The Ideological Capture of Homelessness Advocacy,” focuses on the 759 organizations that filed amicus briefs in the Supreme Court case Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024), arguing that laws against camping on the sidewalk violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Supreme Court disagreed, but the nonprofit support for this claim illustrates how organizations founded to help solve the homelessness crisis engage in activism that arguably exacerbates it.

The Capital Research Center report finds that the nonprofits collectively have $9.1 billion in total revenues and received at least $2.9 billion in government grants (32% of their revenues), according to IRS filings.

Attacking Trump and Conservatives

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-wing nonprofit that puts mainstream conservative and Christian groups on a “hate map” alongside the Ku Klux Klan and has an endowment of more than $700 million, was the second-largest nonprofit to sign an amicus brief in the Grants Pass case.

The SPLC’s involvement “illustrates the disconnect between those charities that provide genuine services to the needy, and those that use their resources to advance a left-wing ideological agenda,” Walter said.

“When President [Donald] Trump signed a series of commonsensical executive orders in 2025 to protect public safety and address the root causes of homelessness, the SPLC and other allied groups accused him of human rights violations,” he noted.

Trump’s order “Ending Crime and Disorder on American Streets” notes that America hit a grim milestone when 274,224 people lived on the streets on a single night in January 2024, and that most of the homeless “are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both.” His order directs the federal government to enforce bans on open illicit drug use and on urban camping and shifting the homeless into “long-term institutional settings for humane treatment.”

In response, SPLC Deputy Legal Director Kirsten Anderson accused Trump of “resurrecting unlawful and outdated approaches to housing that are rooted in racist stereotypes and bias against people with disabilities.”

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Trump Administration Overhauls Biden’s DEI Broadband Program that Connected Zero Households in 4 Years

Trump’s Assistant Secretary of Commerce and administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Arielle Roth, outlined the Administration’s policies for reforming the wasteful Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program in a speech at the Hudson Institute this week. According to Roth, “For years, BEAD was weighed down by red tape and extralegal conditions that slowed down states, deterred providers, and sidelined innovative technologies.”

As Breitbart has previously reported, BEAD was filled with DEI mandates, climate-regulation burdens, and a fiber-technology bias that virtually banned viable satellite and fixed-wireless solutions — despite fiber being inefficient in sparsely populated areas. Rather than prioritizing connecting rural Americans most cost-effectively, BEAD under Biden became an ideological vehicle — so much so that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) admitted four years after the bill’s passage that it hadn’t connected a single household.

The $42.5 billion federal program prioritized woke corporate mandates and handouts to the politically connected fiber and broadband lobby, while discriminating against far more efficient Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite technology, such as SpaceX’s Starlink. Four years after it passed, it proposed spending tens of thousands of dollars per household, but failed to connect a single American.

Assistant Secretary Roth agreed, noting that “For years, BEAD was weighed down by red tape and extralegal conditions that slowed down states, deterred providers, and sidelined innovative technologies.” However, she alluded to the problem of state governments undermining the Trump administration’s priorities on BEAD, explaining, “As BEAD moves toward final plan approvals, delivering results means keeping defaults to an absolute minimum.  A program this large and unprecedented must be managed with discipline and careful oversight.  That means meticulously reviewing state proposals to ensure compliance, prevent distortionary outcomes, and protect against waste.”

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Trump Says SNAP Benefits Will Be Solved for Next Month

President Donald Trump said that he believes Republicans will solve how to fund food stamps, when he was asked about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the government shutdown.

SNAP is slated to expire by Nov. 1, potentially ending benefits for millions of people across the United States.

“We’re going to get it done,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Oct. 29. “The Democrats have caused the problem, unfortunately. All they have to do is sign, and if they sign, I’ll meet with them.”

The president then suggested that the shutdown is linked to broader talks on health care and an extension of subsidies. Senate Democrats have refused 13 times to pass bills to reopen the government because those measures do not include health care provisions, including an extension of Affordable Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare) subsidies slated to expire at the end of the year.

“We have to fix health care because Obamacare is a disaster,” Trump said, referring to the Affordable Care Act. “When you see the increases in Obamacare, it never worked, it never will work, and we could do something with the Democrats much better than Obamacare. Less money and better health care.”

Trump then said that health insurance companies are “making too much money” and said that talks are needed between Republicans and Democrats when the shutdown ends.

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