Democrats are putting political and partisan gain ahead of the needs of struggling Americans during the government shutdown, particularly when it comes to the issue of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Tea Party Patriots Action Honorary Chair Jenny Beth Martin said Sunday on Newsmax.
"The Democrats are very focused on anything they can do to stand up to President [Donald] Trump and to the Trump administration, and they think that this shutdown is helping them with that," Martin told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend."
"I think they're making a huge mistake," she added. "They're the ones who think that government solves problems."
The Department of Agriculture planned to withhold payments to the food program starting Saturday until two federal judges ordered the administration to make them.
However, it was unclear when the debit cards that beneficiaries use could be reloaded after the ruling, sparking fear and confusion among many recipients.
In an apparent response to President Donald Trump, who said he would provide the money but wanted more legal direction from the court, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell in Rhode Island ordered the government to report back by Monday on how it would fund SNAP accounts.
McConnell, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, said the Trump administration must either make a full payment by that day or, if it decides to tap $3 billion in a contingency fund, determine how to do that by Wednesday.
Martin on Sunday also weighed in on the upcoming New York City mayoral race, where Democrat candidate Zohran Mamdani has drawn national attention amid concerns about his position as a self-described democratic socialist.
"I think that money would have been more useful six or eight weeks ago," she said, referring to recent campaign spending by former Mayor Mike Bloomberg in a late push against Mamdani.
"I hope that people in New York understand that having a socialist, Marxist, leftist in control of their city will not help solve their problems," Martin added. "It will only increase prices and costs across the entire city, and the very problems they want to find solutions for will become worse under Mamdani."
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