Millions of Americans were set to go hungry this weekend after Senate Democrats blocked a government funding bill 13 times in six weeks, keeping vital food programs offline as key elections approach in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.
“They’re setting everything up for next week,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told Politico on Friday.
“If they do it before Tuesday, then their base may not show up because it looks like they caved … That’s why they’re setting everything up to open next week. We’ll be open next Wednesday, or Wednesday night, or Thursday,” he added.
The shutdown has left nearly 42 million low-income Americans without Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a crisis Republicans say stems directly from Democrats’ refusal to drop their demands to extend ObamaCare subsidies expiring later this year.
“Democrats have instigated a disgusting dereliction of duty unlike anything I have seen in all my years doing this work,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Capitol Hill press conference alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Rollins said she was “embarrassed” for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), calling him the driving force behind the shutdown.
“He is going out of his way to please the likes of Zohran Mamdani, a man who is polarizing America with his socialist rhetoric and anti-American principles,” she said.
“The very essence of government responsibility is to the citizens who live and work here, to protect their interests first — unless you are a Democrat in the United States Senate.”
The standoff deepened Friday after two Obama-appointed federal judges ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to pay out food stamp benefits.
In Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John McConnell directed the administration to redirect $6 billion in unallocated contingency funds to the SNAP program, despite USDA warnings that those funds are legally restricted to natural disasters such as hurricanes.
In Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a similar order, ruling that the administration could not allow benefits to lapse as the calendar turned to November.
“Defendants erred in concluding that USDA is statutorily prohibited from using the contingency reserve to fund SNAP benefits during the pendency of the lapse in appropriations,” Talwani wrote.
The Justice Department was expected to appeal but had not done so by the close of business Friday.
Democrats celebrated the rulings, with one congressional source telling The Post, “The court order puts more heat on the GOP to negotiate.”
Moments later, President Trump said he had instructed administration 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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.”
Even before Friday’s rulings, Democrats privately admitted the standoff had no immediate resolution in sight.
“There has been some outreach by GOP members from the House and Senate in states that have now gotten health insurance premium increases, but it hasn’t yet meant GOP leaders are willing to listen,” one Democratic staffer said. “The weekend seems status quo but talks continue.”
Republican leaders have proposed separate bills to pay military service members or restore SNAP funding.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has offered a bipartisan proposal to extend ObamaCare subsidies but insists Democrats first pass a continuing resolution to reopen the government.
The House passed that legislation Sept. 19, with Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) breaking ranks to join Republicans.
As open enrollment for ObamaCare begins, the ongoing shutdown threatens to delay benefits, payments, and programs nationwide.
