Millions Of Americans On The Cusp Of Losing SNAP Food Assistance – Trump Blames “Illegal Aliens” And “Transgender Surgery For Minors”
The government shutdown continues as Dems and GOP are at a budget impasse.
Featured Image: Oscar Wong via Getty Images
This weekend, on Nov. 1, millions of struggling Americans face the grim possibility of losing SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and their next meal. The government-funded program provides the means for 42 million people (about 1 in 8) in the U.S. to buy groceries. Now, due to the ongoing government shutdown, those benefits (about $187 a month) are threatened.
Is it possible that this is due to immigrants and trans “gender mutilation procedures?” The Trump Administration would like you to think so, and has been gearing up to blame this moment on the “Radical Left.”
On Sept. 28, Donald J. Trump posted on Truth Social: “They are threatening to shut down the Government of the United States unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens (A monumental cost!), force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”
Image on USDA website posted over the weekend
The U.S. government shutdown began on Oct. 1, due to the standoff between Republicans and Democrats over government funding proposals for the 2026 fiscal year.
To be fair, Democrats definitely have something to do with it – and blessedly. Anyone who was around to purchase health insurance before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a.k.a. “Obamacare,” understands what a milestone it was to eliminate insurance discrimination over that pesky little thing called “pre-existing conditions.” For the uninitiated: in the past, if you had a health condition (that would be most of us), insurance companies could, and did, substantially hike up your rate and sometimes would not insure you at all.
While the axe isn’t coming down on that gain just yet, best to be aware of the ACA’s scope, given how often the GOP has talked about taking a match to the entire thing.
Moving on, the next hugely important part of Obamacare was the ACA tax credits. As it stands now, people within certain income ranges can get tax credits to help make health insurance affordable. This opportunity is due to expire, and the Dems want to see it extended. Insurers have already increased rates significantly for 2026, about 30 percent on average in the 30 states where the markets are managed by the government. State-managed plans will skyrocket, too. On the New York State of Health Marketplace, for instance, someone paying a few hundred dollars per month currently could pay well over $1500 next year without tax credits (plus a high deductible).
Led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Dems are not signing off on the “Big Beautiful Bill” until this tax credit matter gets sorted out. They have also been fighting against deep cuts to Medicaid. Funding is being held up during this stalemate. Many federal employees aren’t getting paychecks. SNAP is in jeopardy. Not a good look for the Trump Administration.
That’s where the scapegoat comes in.
When in doubt, blame immigrants, trans folks, and spread fearmongering over the wildly-imaginative-but-not-actually-happening idea of surgical castration of children. For the record, a 2024 study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found little to no utilization of gender-affirming surgeries by transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) minors in the U.S. In fact, they found more gender-affirming surgeries among cisgender minors and adults.
Glad we could clear that up.
In the meantime, more than two dozen states just sued the Trump Administration to fork over emergency funds for SNAP. The shutdown will continue until it gets 60 votes in the Senate to advance the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
