Trump is open to funding the poor relief program despite the government shutdown economy

US President Donald Trump expressed on Friday his willingness to maintain funding for the main food aid program for the poor, just hours before it was suspended due to the government shutdown that has been ongoing for more than a month.

After more than four weeks of government closure, hundreds of thousands of federal employees temporarily out of work, air traffic disturbances, and national parks stopping work, the effects of the closure are expected to extend to the 42 million Americans who benefit from the “SNAP” program, which the federal government is supposed to stop funding from Friday night to Saturday.

After a federal judge, based on a lawsuit from human rights groups, ordered the government on Friday to use emergency funds to finance “Snap,” President Trump confirmed his openness to such a solution.

The US President wrote on his page on his “Truth Social” platform: “I do not want Americans to go hungry… If we obtain appropriate legal guidance from the court, it will be my honor to secure funding” for the “Snap” program.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who belongs to the Republicans, previously said, “There are real people, real families – there are children – who will suffer from hunger starting at the end of this week,” accusing the opposition represented by the Democratic Party of “continuing its political games in Washington.”

As for US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, she stated that funding for the “Snap” program will run out after a month of the government shutdown.

With food aid potentially ending, some Americans have begun organizing a solidarity chain.

Twenty-five US states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against the administration of President Donald Trump after it announced the suspension of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, on which more than 40 million low-income Americans depend, according to what was reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The states are seeking to force the government to use the $6 billion emergency fund to cover the program, while the US Department of Agriculture refuses, arguing that funds must be kept to deal with potential disasters, stressing in a statement that “funding has dried up” and that aid may stop completely by November.

health insurance

It is expected that new health insurance costs will be announced today, Saturday, for more than 24 million Americans covered by the federal “Obamacare” program.

With government support for this program ending at the end of the year, costs are likely to rise significantly, according to the KFF Research Centre.

The issue of support for the ObamaCare program is the focus of the confrontation in Congress between Republicans and Democrats who have not reached agreement on a new budget.

Donald Trump’s party proposes extending the current budget, and Democrats are also seeking to extend support for health insurance programs for low-income families.
Although Republicans have the majority in the Senate, ending the government shutdown and approving the budget requires obtaining some votes from Democrats.

Although military salaries were paid in October based on a decision by Trump, it is not certain that this measure will be possible this November, and more than 1.3 million Americans joining the armed forces may join the 1.4 million federal employees whose salaries were frozen a month ago.

At the same time, the unrest continues to hamper air transport due to the shortage in the number of air traffic controllers, as some of them chose to take sick leave instead of working without pay.

US Vice President J.D. Vance warned of a catastrophe in American air transportation if the government closure continues, amid the possibility of holiday disruption if this closure extends to the busy travel season on the “Thanksgiving” holiday, and he urged Democrats to provide the necessary support to restore government activities.

On Friday, Trump renewed his promise to negotiate with Democrats regarding their demands, but only after the government shutdown is lifted.

The cost of a government shutdown

A White House Council of Economic Advisers memo and other numbers suggest:

• The United States may lose about $15 billion of its gross domestic product weekly as the government shutdown continues.
• Continuing the closure for a month may cause the number of unemployed to increase to 43,000 people, in addition to the harm caused to approximately 1.9 million federal civil servants who have become temporarily unemployed or working without pay, 80% of whom live in the Washington area.
• Figures show that suspending federal employees results in a daily cost of $400 million.