Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Thursday, warning that more than 850,000 residents could lose access to food assistance within days due to the "Democrat shutdown."
Youngkin sounded the alarm over the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding set to expire on Nov. 1.
The government shutdown has reached day 22, making it the second-longest lapse in modern history.
"I refuse to let hungry Virginians be used as 'leverage’ by Congressional Democrats," Youngkin said in a statement released by his office.
"This is an extraordinary action and is only necessary because of the shamelessness of Congressional Democrats, including every Democrat in our entire delegation, who refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution to open the Federal government."
SNAP benefits are distributed monthly and are fully administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Without new federal funding, allocations will cease immediately in November, per prior agency shutdown guidance, the USDA said.
Congressional Democrats have refused to back the House-passed spending bill, insisting that any deal must include temporary extensions of Obamacare subsidies.
Republicans counter that subsidy negotiations should occur only after a clean continuing resolution is passed, the same procedural approach used in previous shutdown deals, according to Reuters.
The Senate failed for the 12th time Wednesday to advance the House-backed funding measure designed to reopen the government. The vote was 54-46, short of the 60 votes required.
It followed a marathon 22-hour, 37-minute floor speech from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who accused President Donald Trump of "authoritarianism" during the shutdown.
A 13th vote is not scheduled for Thursday.
Youngkin directly thanked Trump for federal cooperation during the emergency declaration.
"I thank President Trump and his Administration for their help as they continue to provide support to Virginians in need."
The governor said the state government would step in to guarantee food assistance until federal funding is restored temporarily, but warned the measure is not sustainable indefinitely and again urged Virginia Democrats in Congress to "end this nonsense" immediately.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.