Hakeem Jeffries digs in on SNAP blame-game with 42 million Americans' food benefits at risk

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., signaled that an impending funding cliff affecting benefits for roughly 42 million Americans may not be enough to persuade Democrats to end the government shutdown.

The top House Democrat spoke to reporters on Monday, Day 34 of the fiscal standoff that has paralyzed Congress and led to the closure of numerous federal offices and programs.

He criticized the Trump administration for letting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits lapse on Nov. 1, but when asked if Democrats voting for the GOP federal funding bill would be the most prudent way to fix that, he said, "No."

"The easiest way to fund SNAP is for the administration to do exactly what it's done in so many other instances, including the administration finding $40 billion in order to bail out their right-wing dictator-wannabe friend in Argentina," Jeffries said. "They found $40 billion and now want to claim that they can't find a cent in order to make sure that millions of Americans don't go hungry."

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He accused President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans of making an "intentional, vicious choice" after the administration said it was not able to reshuffle funds into the program without putting benefits for other vulnerable Americans, including children, at risk.

"Not a single American should go hungry. Not a single American. And it's the fault of Republicans that that is happening in this country right now," Jeffries said.

It comes just after the Trump administration said it would use nearly all of what's in the SNAP emergency contingency fund to give food-stamp recipients 50% of their benefits for November, following a judge's ruling Friday.

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The administration previously argued that the contingency fund could only be used to replenish SNAP dollars after it was already appropriated by Congress, which it has not been due to the shutdown. The White House has contended that the fund is aimed at emergencies like natural disasters, rather than a political standoff in Washington.

The contingency fund is thought to contain just over $5 billion, while meeting all SNAP needs in a month normally costs the federal government around $9 billion.

The administration also warned in a court filing on Monday that distributing those partial funds could take weeks due to administrative delays.

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But Jeffries' comments on Monday indicate that the chaos that could delay food benefits for millions of Americans - and could leave them with insufficient funding for the Thanksgiving holiday - is not enough to make Democrats budge.

Republicans are pushing a "clean" short-term funding bill without policy riders to give lawmakers until Nov. 21 to strike a deal on federal spending for fiscal year (FY) 2026.

But Democrats have rejected that legislation more than a dozen times, demanding concessions on GOP healthcare cuts be paired with any spending bill. Jeffries indicated Democrats are still holding firm to that, despite the rising cost of the shutdown.

"We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. That's been our position week after week after week. And it will continue to be our position because the Republican healthcare crisis is crushing the American people," he said.