Gavin Newsom seeks to use shutdown as cudgel against Trump admin, announces lawsuit over SNAP benefits

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that the state filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for alleged “unlawful refusal” of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

On Wednesday, the Democratic governor deployed the state’s National Guard to support food banks in November, as anticipated delays to federal food assistance had been expected due to the ongoing government shutdown. According to the lawsuit, California is joined by 20 other states, including Arizona and Massachusetts, arguing the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has illegally refused to fund SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown, “despite possessing funds to support SNAP in November.”

“I won’t belabor or repeat or be redundant except to say he’s [Bonta] going to be successful, we will be successful, that’s why we’re here. We could talk about our contingency plans, and I’ll add to that in a moment, but this is about as crystal clear an argument that I’ve seen of the 40-plus lawsuits that we have advanced,” Newsom said. “USDA shall, their own words, 9/30 memo, just weeks ago, they said the reason we have the contingency plan is appropriated by Congress is to, in case there is a government shutdown, to advance these funds to address and mitigate this potential looming crisis, period, full stop, not complicated.”

WATCH:

In a statement released on their website, the USAD posted a notice on Monday that SNAP benefits will be paused starting Nov. 1, calling out Democrats who have continued to vote for the government shutdown to continue.

“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 USAD website states.

The announcement from the USDA reportedly followed a memo stating the agency would not use its $5 billion in contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits, as those funds are “not legally available” for that purpose and are instead reserved for natural disasters and other emergencies, according to Reuters.

Newsom continued criticizing Republicans over the government shutdown, accusing House Speaker Mike Johnson of lying when he said “there’s nothing” he could do to end it.

“It’s also interesting to me because I spent a little time at a wonderful Jesuit university. If there was anything I remember about my four years with Father Cos is that the New Testament, Old Testament have one thing dominantly in common, Matthew, Isaiah, Luke, Proverbs. I mean, go down the list. It’s around food. It’s about serving those that are hungry. It’s not a suggestion in the Old and New Testaments. It’s core and central to what it is to align to God’s will, period, full stop,” Newsom said.

“I say that because these guys need to stop the BS in Washington, D.C. They’re sitting there in their prayer breakfasts. Maybe they got an edited version of Donald Trump’s Bible, and they edited all of that out. I mean, enough of this. Cruelty is the policy. That’s what this is about. It’s intentional cruelty, intentionally creating anxiety for millions and millions of people, 5.5 million here in our home state,” Newsom added.

The government shutdown officially began on Oct. 1 after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led almost all Senate Democrats in opposing a bill to fund the government. With the closure on its way to becoming the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Senate Democrats rejected a clean funding measure to reopen the government for the 13th time on Tuesday.

According to the California Democrats’ press release on the lawsuit, the state will now fast-track $80 million of its funds to “stabilize food bank food distribution and offset delays in federal CalFresh benefits” for 5.5 million residents.

The USDA did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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