LOS ANGELES (OC).–Fallout from the Oct. 1 government shutdown continues to wreak havoc around the country, exposing for all to see the 42 million or 12% of Amerricans dependent on government largess in what’s known as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program [SNAP] once known as food stamps. For anyone watching from outside the country, it exposes for all to see that the country isn’t as rich as it seems, with 12 % of the population requiring government food assistance to survive. :Once the government shutdown Oct.1, the funding for SNAP and other health care programs like Obamacare dried up, leaving vulnerable citizens scrambling to make ends meet. U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell in Rhode Island lambasted the White House and Congress for not figuring out the repercussions for the Oct. 1 government shutdown, leaving many U.S. citizens in the lurch.
McConnell was horrified by the federal governments lack of responsibility in administering SNAP to food-vulnerable U.S. citizens. “The [administration] failed to consider the practical consequences associated with this decision to only partially fund SNAP,” McConnell said in Rhode Island. But McConnell needs to take a step back from the politics and ask why Democrat and Republican members of Congress also didn’t consider the repercussions of a government shutdown. Instead of playing politics with the poor, House and Senate Democrats could have done what they’ve done in the past, sign a continuing budget resolution to keep the government funded, avoiding a shutdown. So when McConnell points fingers at the the White House, Congress also plays a big part.
McConnell said the White House should take money from other places like the Department of Agriculture reserve funds. “They knew that there would be a long delay in paying partial SNAP payments and failed to consider the harms to individuals who rely on those benefits would suffer,” McConnell said. USDA officials said they would release $4.65 billion in reserve funds, only covering about 50% of the benefits allotted to households. White House and elected officials should have known the hardship a government shutdown would play on needy beneficiaries wholly dependent on government largess to feed their families. Both sides deserve the blame for not putting the people first before the partisan squabbles. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) offered Democrats a clean continuing budget resolution, the usual way to resolved funding disputes. Democrats rejected Johnson’s offer, insisting Republicans reinstate $1.5 trillion in Medicaid funding.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries 9D-N.Y.), most likely the next House Speaker in 2026, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have played hardball with Republicans, demanding before the government is reopened that they restore all the Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies lost in Trump’s July 1, Big Beautiful Bill. Office of Management and Budget [OMB] Director Russell Vought knew the havoc he would create cutting $1.5 trillion out of Medicaid and Obamacare funding. His Heritage Foundation zealotry for Project 2025 colored his judgment when it came to budget priorities. Now that the government’s been shut down for 38 days, a new record, Democrats and Republicans look equally bad. But the public sees things differently with the help of the fake news. Polls indicate that Republicans have taken a beating in the polls during the shutdown.
Most states don’t have the resources to continue funding SNAP, certainly not Medicaid or Obamacare. Elected officials needs to stop the partisan politics with Democrat knowing that they won the off-year election, putting a 34-year-old Democrat socialist Zohran Mamdani into the New York City’s Mayor’s office. Big governor wins by Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey shows the shaped of things to come in next year’s Midterm elections. Trump’s refusal to end the shutdown hurts Republicans heading into 2026. While the trend may be toward youth voting, the shutdown doesn’t help Republicans, especially knowing that Jeffries and Schumer are fighting to restore benefits to the little guy, the most vulnerable U.S. citizens. It should shock the public that 12% of the country receives SNAP benefits to survive. Well so do the grocery stores that supply them food.
Democrats and Republicans must stop the partisan warfare to end the government shutdown. Too many ordinary people, 42 million of them, count on SNAP to pay for daily sustenance. In what’s supposed to be the richest country on the planet, why are 12% of the population in need to government food benefits? When it comes to health care, it’s obvious that no matter what the problems in Medicaid or Obamacare, it’s far better that than letting the program die on the vine. Republicans can scream waste, fraud and mismanagement but if that’s what it takes, Medicaid and Obamacare must continue unless something better comes around. Jeffries and Schumer must stop the political posturing and work across the aisle to end the government shutdown. Too many ordinary people are being hurt by not getting their benefits, not to mention the businesses attached the benefits.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’d editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
