Hold onto your grocery carts, folks—Senate Republicans just slammed the brakes on a Democratic bid to fund food assistance amid a government shutdown.
Over the weekend, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports 42 million Americans, ran dry due to the ongoing federal stalemate, and this week, a Democratic effort to replenish it with $8 billion was shot down by GOP senators who insist the real fix lies in reopening the government, The Hill reported.
As the shutdown dragged on, SNAP funds evaporated, leaving millions of families in a lurch while political gridlock tightened its grip.
On Monday, Senate Republicans stood firm against a Democratic attempt to restore full funding for SNAP benefits.
By Wednesday, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., stepped up with a resolution via unanimous consent, aiming to secure $8 billion for the Department of Agriculture to cover SNAP for November.
But Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., wasn’t having it, objecting to the measure and effectively blocking it during the session.
Barrasso argued that the only sensible path forward is to end the shutdown entirely, rather than patching programs like SNAP with temporary fixes.
“If Democrats really wanted to help struggling families, they’d stop blocking a clean continuing resolution,” Barrasso said. That’s a sharp jab at the left, and it’s hard not to wonder if endless partisan posturing is the real hunger problem here.
Merkley, meanwhile, made his plea with a dramatic flair, holding up a placard reading “Trump is weaponizing food for the sake of MAHA”—a play on “Make America Hungry Again.”
“Let’s all together say ‘fund SNAP’ not weeks or months from now, but right now so America’s families … will benefit,” Merkley urged. Noble words, sure, but when resolutions need unanimous consent, one objection is all it takes to spoil the pot.
Barrasso didn’t mince words either, calling the Democratic move a hollow gesture meant for headlines, not results.
The Trump administration, for its part, has stepped in with a partial solution, scraping together $5 billion from existing Agriculture Department funds to cover some SNAP benefits—but it’s far short of the full need.
That $5 billion Band-Aid won’t feed all 42 million recipients for long, and it sidesteps the bigger question of why Congress can’t get its act together.
Conservatives might argue that reopening the government is the cleanest way to restore stability, not just for SNAP but for every stalled federal program. Piecemeal resolutions, while well-intentioned, risk becoming political theater instead of policy wins.
Yet, there’s no denying the human cost of this standoff—families counting on SNAP are caught in the crossfire of a Washington power struggle, and that’s a bitter pill no matter your politics.
