President Donald Trump announced late Friday that he has directed White House lawyers to seek immediate legal advice from the courts regarding the funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), potentially affecting millions of Americans facing benefit loss a month into the ongoing government shutdown.
With Democrats in Congress continuing to block a short-term funding measure, approximately 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP are at risk of losing their food assistance benefits. The President’s move comes as states are unable to issue benefits due to the current funding lapse.
President Trump indicated that government lawyers are unsure of the legal authority to use available monies for SNAP, citing conflicting opinions from two different courts on the matter.
“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 in a statement. “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 specified that he has instructed his legal team to “ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.” He acknowledged that even with swift judicial guidance, there would still be an unfortunate delay in benefits reaching recipients while states process the funds.
“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 President added.
President Trump placed the blame squarely on Senate Democrats, alleging they are deliberately obstructing funding efforts to gain political advantage in the shutdown negotiations.
“Democrats should quit this charade where they hurt people for their own political reasons, and immediately REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” Trump stated. He went on to urge SNAP beneficiaries to contact Senate Democrats, specifically providing a phone number for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.
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