The partial U.S. government shutdown , now in its 26th day, threatens to leave more than 40 million low-income people without food stamps or with reduced assistance .

This is the warning issued by the Department of Agriculture ( USDA ), which warns that it will not use contingency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in November. Democrats are calling this a “cruel offense” designed to exert political pressure, but which in practice means leaving many families who only rely on these vouchers for food unprotected.

The situation became critical after the U.S. Department of Agriculture threatened to withhold billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) contingency fund if the government shutdown extends beyond October 31. This fund was allocated by Congress specifically for emergency situations.

Currently, the contingency fund has between $5 billion and $6 billion . However, this amount is insufficient to cover the estimated $8 billion required to fully deliver SNAP benefits next month , although it would allow for partial payments to low-income recipients.

The Republican-led Department of Agriculture (USDA) has indicated it will not use those funds to cover SNAP benefits, arguing that the current shutdown “does not meet the requirements” for these resources, as it was created by Democrats.

The USDA memo notes that using the money for such an event would be illegal, as the fund was designed to respond to natural disasters.

Congressional Democrats have alleged that the Republican administration is deliberately worsening the negative consequences of the shutdown, even though it has the capacity to mitigate the impact on vulnerable populations. This action attempts to maximize pressure on Senate Democrats to support a GOP spending bill that would reopen the government but would mean abandoning social programs like Medicare.

Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro and Angie Craig reacted harshly, criticizing the maneuver: “This is perhaps the cruelest and most illegal offense the Trump Administration has perpetrated so far: freezing funds already enacted to feed hungry Americans.”

Democrats contrasted the treatment of the most vulnerable with the president’s supposed generosity, warning that Trump “is sending tens of billions of dollars to Argentina and bringing them back to his ballroom.”

The controversy highlights how the political struggle in Washington, driven by partisan interests, directly impacts the food security of more than 40 million low-income people , who now face the uncertainty of not being able to afford basic grocery expenses.