Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a Democratic-led effort to keep federal food aid programs funded, raising the likelihood that benefits to roughly 42 million Americans will lapse at the end of the week if the government shutdown continues.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on the Senate floor Wednesday that the bill introduced by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., which would extend funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program past Nov. 1, was a "cynical attempt to buy political cover for Democrats to allow them to carry on their government shutdown even longer."
"We're not going to let them pick winners and losers," Thune said on the 29th day of the shutdown.
Under Senate rules, it only takes one senator to object to a unanimous consent request, the method Democrats planned to use. With the U.S. Department of Agriculture saying it won't use contingency funds to cover the gap, SNAP could lapse for the first time in modern U.S. history at week's end.
SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, is the nation's largest nutrition-assistance program, serving about 42 million low-income Americans annually.
According to the USDA's Economic Research Service, SNAP benefits are typically treated as an entitlement, but the ongoing funding lapse could cause the first interruption in payments if the shutdown persists.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who introduced his own stand-alone SNAP "patch" bill, said his measure would also be blocked from passing by unanimous consent.
Thune told reporters that if the Senate begins approving measures "that take care of this group or that group ... it just begs the larger question, how long is this going to drag on?"
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., placed the blame squarely on Republicans.
"Ask John Thune why he won't put it on the floor," he said on the Senate floor. "He knows there's broad Republican support for it, and he doesn't put it on the floor. He's afraid of Trump. That's it. He knows better."
President Donald Trump has spoken cautiously about the potential lapse. Asked aboard Air Force One about the SNAP deadline, Trump said, "We'll get it done," before quickly pivoting to blame Democrats for the shutdown.
The debate has divided Republicans between those who want to ensure nutrition programs continue and leadership figures who are unwilling to relieve pressure on Democrats to reopen the government.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has urged USDA to use existing funds to keep SNAP operating; roughly 12% of Mainers depend on the program. Thune said he spoke with Trump on Tuesday night but that they did not discuss unilateral executive action.
"What he's saying consistently is, 'Open up the government,'" Thune added.
Democrats and some Republicans argue the administration can legally draw on about $5 billion in contingency funds to keep SNAP running. Several Democratic governors and attorneys general have filed lawsuits over the administration's refusal to do so.
"They need to use it. That's what it's there for," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. "If they don't, they're inflicting pain upon some of the most vulnerable people in the country."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., countered that Congress hasn't authorized the use of contingency funds and faulted Democrats for rejecting a stopgap spending bill that would keep benefits flowing.
"On Saturday, this gets very real," Johnson said. "You're talking about tens of millions of Americans at risk of going hungry — if Senate Democrats continue this."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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