Shutdown Food Stamp Warning
Terry H. Schwadron
Oct. 13, 2025
Among the effects starting to show in a deepening shutdown standoff, there were warnings from the government that money for food stamps will start running out at the end of the month while there obviously is sufficient money to continue mass deportations.
In a memo to states that Axios.com obtained, the Trump administration is warning states that there will be “insufficient funds” to pay full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to 42 million poor Americans if the government shutdown extends past October. It is signed by Ronald Ward, acting associate administrator of SNAP.
The memo tells states not to distribute food stamp cards for November “until further notice.” Asked for explanation, officials blamed Democratic resistance on the budget standoff.
News organizations are beginning to list the initial results of the shutdown as effects spread. Trump announced he had “found” some billions of dollars to meet the next military pay period, which means that he took it from otherwise assigned congressional monies.
More than 4,000 mass layoff notices have gone out to workers in several federal agencies, including 1,000 from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, some of whom who deal with measles, Covid and e-coli illnesses and already are being recalled. Businesses awaiting government approvals for normal project work are delaying, losing money and delaying approved services.
The New York Times cited key medical services, including diabetes monitoring, shutting in some Native American communities, key medical services, suspension of counseling and benefit interviews for veterans, delays in IRS agents to answer questions about filing extensions.
We’re already well beyond the usual shutdown reports about national park service cuts, Smithsonian closings, and expected delays at lengthened TSA lines at the airports or even higher-than-average sickouts among air traffic controllers as the first missed payday arrives.
Rehiring people after just firing them? Given the bad effects of DOGE-sponsored government layoffs earlier this year, you’d think these guys could at least decided who needed to go.
No Solutions in Sight
This last week suggested chances for early political resolution are slipping from remote to nil. The last shutdown lasted 34 days and was estimated to cut $11 billion from government productivity numbers.
Still, Democrats and Republicans in Washington were actively pushing aside any substantial negotiation effort to break an impasse over the specific issues around continuing support for Obamacare care access and the higher health rates for those without job-paid health coverage — and eventually all of us.
Donald Trump, preening over developments in the Middle East, was showing a much more belligerent face at home. In the same week, he publicly suggested that legally mandated back pay might be withheld from 600,000 furloughed workers, started his threatened layoffs — also raising legal issues — and continuing to say he would be seeking ways to punish “Democratic” programs. Congress decided it would rather put funds in tax cuts for those who essentially don’t need them.
What exactly is “Democratic” about insufficient funds for food stamps remains as unclear as the fate of a new commuter tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City. The uncertainties facing farmers who have lost their overseas markets amid tariff clashes and are delaying seed sowing would seem to have little political partisan labeling.
Beyond the threats, there was the simple act of gracious communication with workers who say they are discovering their layoffs in an email or not hearing anything at all. The administration is being secretive about who exactly is being laid off or offering much information about how they are being determined.
Strangely, there were Republican defections this week, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for whom it was news that her adult children would face huge health insurance rate increases in the next months because of the Big Beautiful Bill.
Still, the leadership is holding fast on all sides because the principles of blame seem more important than the welfare of Americans.
##