LOS ANGELES (oc).–Told by a federal judge in Rhode Island that he must make Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program [SNAP] available by Monday, President Donald Trump is saying the government must reopen before the full benefits can be restored. Trump knows that the July 4 Big Beautiful Bill tried to cut SNAP benefits, claiming the income eligibility requirements were giving benefits to individuals not qualified because of too much income. Trump can’t get over the fact that Democrats, in the House and Senate minority, put their foot down Oct. 1 when they shut down the government, refusing to sign onto a clean continuing budget resolution. House and Senate Republicans said that once the government reopened they would renew discussions about the SNAP programs and the $1.5 trillion cut in Medicaid over the next 10 years, already causing Obamacare premiums to skyrocket.
Democrats don’t trust House and Senate Republicans to make good on promises to renegotiate the Big Beautiful Bill where White House Office of Management and Budget [OMB] Director Russell Vought, a primary architect of Project 2025, got overly zealous cutting $1.5 trillion out of the Medicaid System. Defying a Rhode Island court order, Trump claims the money can’t be reinstated without the government reopening again. Democrats show signs this week of ending the shutdown but s still have no confidence that Republicans will make good on promises to restore Medicaid funding and Obamacare subsidies. Democrats think the SNAP program and Medicaid funding are high priority for the American people currently struggling with inflationary pressure on daily expenses. Democrats feel strongly about restoring benefits to the most vulnerable Americans.
Closed for 35 days, matching the longest shutdown in government history, Trump shows that reinstating government benefits to the poor is not a high priority for his administration. Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill think there’s too much waste, fraud and abuse in the SNAP program and Medicaid, enabling noncitizens to make use of benefits in certain states like California. Whatever the percentage of noncitizens receiving Medicaid benefits it’s miniscule compared to the 70 million poor people utilizing the benefits. Saying there’s too much abuse in the system doesn’t mean that Medicaid is an essential government group used by many beneficiaries requiring government health benefits. Over 25 million Obamacare subscribers depend on government subsidies to pay expensive premiums. Without government subsidies, premiums are expected to skyrocket.
Today’s elections in New York City and redistricting around the country could be a blow to Republicans as Democrat and fake news propaganda have finally gotten through to the public. Democrats have made a strong case that Republicans don’t care about citizens on public assistance, receiving Medicaid, Obamacare or SNAP benefits. Pulling the plug on SNAP benefits is enough to turn the public against Republicans. So no matter who’s really to blame for the government shutdown, it doesn’t really matter now that the public sees Republicans ignoring government subsidies for the poor. Where the money comes from, Trump is under court order in Rhode Island to find it or agree to end the shutdown immediately restoring $1.5 trillion in Medicaid benefits and Obamacare subsidies. Trump and Republicans find themselves at the wrong end to the debate.
Whatever money for SNAP Trump comes up with from tariff revenues, it won’t be enough to reinstate all the lost government benefits. Unless Trump wants to watch his administration go up in smoke in 2026, he needs to change course soon, because there’s too many needy Americans to ignore their needs. Saying there’s too much waste, fraud and abuse doesn’t address the millions of Americans in need of government funded health care and food programs like SNAP. Optics could not be worse for the GOP, turning many voters off to the GOP when it comes to today’s election. Redistricting fights will go on around the country, giving Democrats a good barometer of where they stand in next year’s Midterm elections. Trump has shown too little sympathy for Americans currently dependent on government largess, turning voters Democrat.
Doling out cash in dribs-and-drabs won’t deal with today’s dilemma of paying for SNAP, Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies. Instead of ending the bleeding, Trump continues to antagonize voters by showing to little empathy for citizens dependent on government largess. Ending the government shutdown is the best way to get things back on track. Democrats certainly made their point about SNAP, Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies, serving notice that they won’t take empty GOP promises to reinstate lost funding. Whatever cash Trump pulls from tariffs, it’s not enough to to pay for the many benefits that require full federal funding. Ending the shutdown should be easy knowing that there’s no better alterantive. Democrats need to come a long to realize that shutting down the government could boomerang if it’s not fixed soon. Today’s elections should tell the real story.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
