Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Saturday called the effects of the government shutdown, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits not being issued for at least November, “wrong.”
Speaking with Lara Trump on Fox News’s “My View,” Fetterman said he did not care “who’s behind” the shutdown, “it’s always wrong, and here we are.”
“I really led the charge back in March, and we came up with enough votes to keep our government open,” Fetterman said. “And I did that. I did receive blowback, but I say, ‘Hey, that’s the right thing,’ and I stand on that. I returned here in October and I’m saying the same thing. It’s always wrong.”
He stressed that Democrats and Republicans should have negotiations about extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits before they expire at the end of the year, but only while the government is open.
“You may have a noble goal, but [a government shutdown] is the wrong tactic, and I can’t ever vote for that,” Fetterman continued.
The Pennsylvania Democrat also told Lara Trump, President Trump’s daughter-in-law and the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), that he refused to shut down the government “and risk food insecurity to 42 million Americans, whether it’s red or blue counties.”
“Republicans and Democrats get hungry, and they need these [SNAP benefits] and they deserve these kinds of support,” he said. “And I refuse to engage in bad political theater. I think that’s a betrayal of one of our core responsibilities.”
At one point during the interview, he called Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.C.) “an honorable man.”
Due to the shutdown, Americans who rely on SNAP benefits will no longer receive them until the government reopens.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said Friday that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not have enough money in its emergency fund reserved for emergencies like natural disasters, and said the department was legally prohibited from using that fund.
However, two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to pay for the SNAP benefits. Trump himself indicated that he would fund SNAP, except that the benefits would be delayed for the month of November.
“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” he continued. “Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
