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The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Saturday posted a new message to its website blaming Democrats for the upcoming suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or food stamps, saying assistance will halt beginning Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown. “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the unsigned message posted on the USDA’s official website reads. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,” the notice concludes. The message comes as the ongoing government shutdown is set to enter its fifth week on Wednesday if Senate Republicans and Democrats don’t reach a 60-vote threshold for legislation that would temporarily fund the government. Representatives for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the notice on the USDA website. In response to questions about the message, Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the White House said, "Senate Democrats have shamefully played politics with our nation’s most vulnerable families in order to push health care for illegal immigrants. They should reopen the government now to protect these crucial benefits that feed one in eight American citizens.” Politics Some Democrats, like Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., earlier this month accused the Trump administration of violating the Hatch Act when agencies and departments across the federal government posted messages online at the start of the shutdown blaming the lapse in funding on the “radical left” and Senate Democrats. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their official capacities to interfere with elections. SNAP benefits, which are distributed from the federal government to states each month, were administered through October because the funds for them were allocated before the shutdown began on Oct. 1. But in a letter dated Oct. 10 from Ronald Ward, the acting associate administrator for SNAP, Ward warned that benefits for funding would stop flowing to states on Nov. 1 if the shutdown continued past that date. “As stated in our lapse of appropriation correspondence dated October 1, 2025, SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October. However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation,” Ward wrote. The Senate last week tried and failed a 12th time to pass a stopgap funding measure that would keep the government open through Nov. 21 at previous funding levels. That measure has already passed the House, which voted for it mostly among party lines in September. At the time, all House Republicans and one House Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine — voted in favor of the temporary funding measure, and all other House Democrats voted against it. Senate Democrats had introduced a separate stopgap funding measure that would have funded the government through Oct. 31 and would have extended Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of this year. That measure also never reached the 60-vote threshold for passage in the Senate. Senate Democrats have maintained that they will not vote to reopen the federal government without a commitment from Republicans and President Donald Trump to extend ACA subsidies for over a year, saying that health insurance premiums will sharply increase for individuals and families if the subsidies expire. “Insurance premiums doubling for 24 million Americans: That is the decision that Republicans are going to make, and then they have to own for the next year. And I’m not quite sure that a lot of Republicans in swing districts understand what they’re about to do,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday. He added later in the interview, “I’ll give you a great example: An Arizona family of four, it’s going to jump almost $3,500. That’s $7,000 someone’s going to have to pay for their health insurance. Many families in this country do not have enough room for them to be able to afford that big of a jump.” Republicans have alleged since the start of the shutdown that Democrats are seeking to fund health care for undocumented immigrants, something that is already prohibited under a long-standing federal law. Democrats’ proposed stopgap funding measure would have reversed cuts that the GOP made earlier this year that prohibit “lawfully present” immigrants from receiving access to federal health care programs. These “lawfully present” immigrants are not “illegal” or “undocumented” immigrants, but include Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program beneficiaries, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children; people who have temporary protected status; and refugees and people seeking asylum who are still going through the legal process. Megan Lebowitz contributed.
