Lousy? I think it needs to be pointed out that while he's posting to social media our government remains in shutdown -- the shutdown he caused. I think it needs to be pointed out that late night posting isn't time working nor is it benefitting his health. I think it especially needs to be pointed when he's lying.
And he's always lying.
Why did Alexander Willis repost Chump's lies and not call them out? Willis treats the lies as fact. What the hell is going on at RAW STORY?
There is no proof that, after January 6th, phone calls of members of Congress were listened in on. I guess they could have used the NSA for archival recordings potentially. There's no other way for you to after the fact tap a phone call. After January 6th, as the government investigated the treasonous insurrection, they got the toll slips. Toll slips only tell you who a number called and the duration of the call. In the immediate hours after Marilyn Monroe's death, the Secret Service seized the toll slips from the phone company. It told them who called the number and who called from the number. It did not tell them the contents of any phone call.
Charles Grassley may not be lying. He's so old, he may truly not understand. He's 92 years old and really needs to retire.
But whether he's lying or just confused, Grassley does not know what he's talking about.
Chump does know the difference between a tap on a phone call and toll slips -- he's known the difference long before he was president and it had to do with some of his father's illegal actives which is a whole other story. But he does know the difference.
If Alexander Willis is unable to explain coherently that false charges repeated in the RAW STORY articles are false charges, then that's a writer who needs to find another outlet.
I do get that there are times when there's so much to cover that a person doesn't have time to cover everything.
Let's note MEIDASTOUCH real quick.
I'm working that video in just because it's important but the connection in my mind is the bad RAW STORY article that does nothing but repeat what Chump posted while others break their backs trying to explain when Chump's doing a con job. For example, Ben on MEDIASTOUCH NEWS does exhaustive coverage and there are times when even he can't fit everything in because it's just too much. So, yes, there are times when you're unable to cover everything. But Ben covers as much as can be covered in one of those segments. He can't do a TED TALK on each lie Chump tells because who has that kind of time? But he does note it's a lie and usually gives multiple examples proving it is a lie.
Alexander Willis has chosen to cover Chump's social media posts from late Friday night/early Saturday morning where Chump attacks various government officials and insists that they tapped phones and listened in re: January 6th.
Lindsey Graham, of course, has been pushing this lie. At his age, he's probably still calling sex lines. So I get that toll slips could be embarrassing for him. But other than that, who's got something to fear over toll slips? Again, these are not transcripts of phone calls.
And, again, RAW STORY needs to expand that story or pull it. As it stands now, they've published an article that endorses the lie that Grassley and others are pimping -- others include Donald Chump.
We should also point out that Chump's Justice Dept in his first term did worse to US House Rep Eric Swawell and then-US House Rep Adam Schiff. They didn't just do toll slips, they also secretly sought their text messages.
Is Chump going to post to social media about what his Justice Dept did?
No.
And it doesn't look like Alexander Willis is going to do any real reporting.
When I covered Attorney General Pam da Bimbo Bondi's theatrical performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, I didn't repeat Pam's comments that first time unless I knew they were true or I knew they were false and could refute them -- we covered the hearing in three consecutive snapshots -- I included her statements and refuted them in the first snapshot. At this late date, everyone watching the news -- not FOX "NEWS" -- know that the toll slip story is about toll slips and that this 'discovery' was made public long, long ago. So there's no excuse for this RAW STORY article.
And it comes at a time -- this rescuing Chump by ignoring facts -- when he really needs rescuing according to the latest polls. Jason Lange (REUTERS) notes, "More
than half of Americans, including about three in 10 Republicans,
believe President Donald Trump is using federal law enforcement to go
after his enemies, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that also found
growing concern about U.S. political divisions nine months into his
second term in office." And Laura Mitchell (CHARLOTTE OBSERVERS) notes, "TIPP Insights polling has indicated that President
Donald Trump’s support in the Midwest has fallen, with 40% favoring him
and 49% viewing him unfavorably."
There
has been a sharp fall in the number of Hispanic adults who view
President Donald Trump favorably, a new poll shows, and more also say
the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction under his leadership.
According
to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public
Affairs Research, 25 percent of Hispanic adults said they had a
"somewhat" or "very" favorable view of Trump in October—down from 44
percent before he returned to the White House in January.
It
is a warning sign of trouble ahead a year out from the 2026 midterm
elections, where the Republican trifecta—control of the White House,
Senate and House—is at stake, as is the smoothness of Trump's final two
years in office as he tries to deliver on his ambitious and hard-line
agenda, especially on the issue of illegal immigration.
President
Donald Trump’s support among Generation Z voters has slipped sharply in
recent months, even as his overall approval rating has remained steady,
according to a new YouGov/Economist poll.
The
survey, conducted between October 17 and 20, found that just 25 percent
of Gen Z respondents approve of Trump’s performance, while 67 percent
disapprove — a net approval of –42 points. That marks a notable decline
from September (30–64, –34) and August (30–67, –37).
The
trend suggests that younger voters—who briefly warmed to Trump during
the 2024 election—are once again drifting away. According to AP
VoteCast, voters aged 18 to 29 backed Kamala Harris over Trump by just
51 percent to 47 percent in 2024, a far smaller margin than Joe Biden’s
61–36 victory among the same age group in 2020. But the latest polling
shows that Trump’s tenuous foothold among Gen Z may be slipping for
good.
He's a con artist and the country's catching on -- even those who once supported him. His tariffs have harmed the economy and Americans are suffering. Eric Garcia (INDEPENDENT) notes:
Inflation
ticked up 0.3 percent for the month and 3 percent over the past 12
months as President Donald Trump defended his tariffs against Canada.
The
Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released the Consumer Price Index
report that tracks inflation. The report had been delayed due to the
government shutdown that began this month. The shutdown has also delayed
the monthly jobs report that shows how many jobs were added or lost
during September.
He lies about it constantly. As though Americans can be conned endlessly and won't notice the huge increase in prices? Bella Arnold (BUZZFEED) notes:
After
Trump became the president-elect, a TikToker called TheEggWatch was
skeptical about his promise to make egg prices great again. So,
TheEggWatch decided to do exactly what his name suggests — watch the
eggs. More specifically, he wanted to see how a Trump presidency would
affect their prices.
“I felt that was a thing that can be easily proven true or false with documentation. So, that’s what I did,” he told BuzzFeed.
Now,
TheEggWatch doesn’t just follow how egg prices are changing in Trump’s
America. He also tracks gas and general grocery prices.
[. . .]
The price of a bag of coffee at TheEggWatch's local store was previously $7.99. Now, it's $9.99 a bag.
On Jan. 19, 2025, TheEggWatch bought a pack of bacon for $7.49. Now, it's on sale for $8.99.
A pack of giant Hershey's with almonds was $3.99. Now, it's $5.29.
The
store's tailless beef loin boneless New York strip steak was $13.99 per
pound when Biden was last in office. Now, that same steak is $16.99 per
pound.
Bananas went from $0.54 to $0.59, which is approximately a 9% increase.
Lean ground beef was $5.69 per pound in January. Now, it's $7.49 per pound
And, finally: Chicken breasts were $4.99 per pound on Jan. 19, 2025. Now, they're $5.49 per pound.
At a White House event on Thursday afternoon, Donald Trump bragged,
in response to an unrelated question, that he’d “already taken care of”
inflation. For those who keep an eye on the president’s public
positions, the lie was jarring but familiar.
American
consumers would likely be delighted if such boasts were true. They are
not. One day after the Republican again claimed to have triumphed over
inflation, NBC News reported:
The
data complicates the short-term future of U.S. monetary policy: The
Federal Reserve has indicated that it expects to lower interest rates in
response to the weakening economy, especially as job growth weakens to
lows unseen since the Great Recession, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s
inflation target is 2%.
With
the latest report showing the Consumer Price Index inching up to 3%,
the economy appears to be moving in the wrong direction, creating an
uncertain path for the central bank.
As for the politics, the latest national poll from The Associated Press found that only 36% of Americans support Trump’s handling of the economy. Other recent surveys have pointed in the same direction.
Reality is reaching the American people. I have no idea why RAW STORY has an article that's repeating Chump's false claims while not only refusing to fact check him but also unable to call his lies "lies" or even "false claims."
Comments know what the writer doesn't. For example:
None of the people Trump’s claiming “rigged” the 2020 election could have possibly done so because NONE of them were in power during the 2020 election cycle because TRUMP Was the President Then! Wake up America! Trump is UNFIT to be President because he either doesn’t realize He was president before the 2020 election or he does realize that He was in office and he’s just lying to get people he doesn’t like changed with a crime. Either way he’s too mentally unstable to remain in office.
Oct 7, 2025, news reports indicate that phone activity was investigated, dates, times, locations, and people making and receiving calls. Contrary to Trump's claim there is no indication that any calls were taped.
We'll wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
Lawmakers press National Park
Service, Trust for the National Mall, on role in possible corrupt access
to, and favor-seeking from, Trump and his administration
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.) led Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.),
Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in pressing National
Park Service Comptroller Jessica Bowron, and President and Trust for the
National Mall Chief Executive Officer Catherine Townsend on how their
organizations have seemingly become a vehicle for politicized
fundraising, influence peddling, and donor access to President Trump,
amid his effort to pay for and build his $300 million ballroom at the
White House. The new letter comes shortly after Trump demolished the
entire East Wing of the White House to make room for his
billionaire-funded ballroom.
“We are concerned about the risk of quid-pro-quo arrangements in
which large corporations get backroom favors from the White House and
President Trump gets his multi-million-dollar ballroom — all while
American families face rising prices during a government shutdown,” wrote the lawmakers. “The
American public deserves answers about the circumstances surrounding
the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, about President
Trump’s attempts to build a gold-plated $300 million ballroom, and about
whether the Trust is being used to facilitate corruption in the forms
of corporate special interests’ insider access to the White House.”
The Trust was established as a nonpartisan, nonprofit partner of the
National Park Service. But the scale of funds raised for President
Trump’s ballroom, President Trump’s personal involvement in fundraising
for the project, and the number of corporate donors with business before
the Trump Administration raise questions about whether the organization
is facilitating these donors’ corrupt access to and favor-seeking from
President Trump and his Administration.
Giant corporate donors have lined up to fund Trump’s new ballroom,
with all contributions reportedly being overseen by the Trust. Many of
those corporations have active business interests before the Trump
administration, raising serious ethics concerns. Just last month,
YouTube settled a lawsuit brought by President Trump by agreeing to
provide $22 million to the Trust for the ballroom project. Google is in
the midst of active antitrust litigation against President Trump’s
Department of Justice (DOJ), and could benefit if DOJ decides not to
continue its legal fight with Google. Similar potential conflicts exist
with other large corporations that Trump reportedly courted for
donations at last week’s glitzy ballroom donor dinner.
“The circumstances surrounding President Trump’s ballroom raise
questions about whether the Trust’s philanthropic structure is being
abused to facilitate special interest access to the Trump Administration
and influence-peddling by giant corporations,” wrote the lawmakers.
The senators pressed for answers to key questions about the exact
agreements in place regarding the building of the ballroom, the source
and amount of donations, whether the donations are charitable
deductions, and more.
Friday, October 24, 2025. Chump's war on immigrants continues to hurt us all, Todd Blanche needs to learn the law before he attempts to practice it, Homeland Security is having an in house contest to determine which employee can tell the most lies in one month, and much more.
On yesterday's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (NPR), Arian Florido pointed out, "At least 20 people have died in ICE custody so far this year, making it one of the deadliest years in immigration and customs detention in the past two decades. This comes as the Trump administration is hoping to increase the number of people it has in detention. NPR's immigration policy reporter Ximena Bustillo has been tracking these conditions." Chump continues his war on immigrants. And on Americans.
A
pregnant Illinois woman has told Newsweek she thought her life was
about to end when a federal agent pointed his gun through her car window
earlier this week.
Lesly Guevara shared videos
on TikTok of her encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) officers chasing two suspects in Berwyn after she
appeared to block them and began beeping her car horn to alert those
nearby to the officers’ presence on Monday.
“I kept
beeping at them because I know that they say that once you see ICE
agents or any of the sort like that, to make a lot of noise, let people
know that they’re around,” Guevara told Newsweek on Wednesday.
“I started going off on him,” she said. “’You’re really gonna shoot a pregnant woman? You’re really gonna do that right now?’
“I
feared for my life and their life, but I felt like I am sick and tired
of people taking advantage of my people going through all of this, so I
had to do something.”
ICE
agents appeared to violently arrest a blind man who was peacefully
protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Portland.
A video shows the man being violently dropped on his head before being
dragged away by authorities.
Footage of the arrest went viral on social media, as many expressed rage over such violence toward a disabled man.
Quinn
Haberl, who is 4’’6’ tall, was wearing a neon vest as he sat outside an
ICE facility in Portland. He was seated right beside a thick blue line
painted on the ground signaling where federal property began. His
position suggests he did not trespass on the facility.
The
chilling video then shows agents coming around Haberl, who was holding
his walking stick. One agent grabbed each of his limbs as the man fell
to the ground. Witnesses screamed in horror, “He is blind!”
Are you starting to grasp why Kristi Noem and Donald Chump are going to spend eternity rotting in hell? Back to the article:
The
demonstrator was then dragged through the driveway toward the building.
The officers tried to lift Haberl off the ground, but at one point,
they lost their grip and fell to the asphalt. The video then shows
agents forcing him to the ground, cuffing him, and picking up his
walking cane.
This
pure evil, don't pretend it's anything else. Local police need to be
cracking down on ICE. Abuse is not permitted nor allowed by any federal
official. "I work for Chump" does not waive your legal
responsibilities. It may -- and probably will -- condemn you to hell;
however, it does not give you a license to beat people up.
Quinn states, “I
think they wanted to make a point. So they picked up the weakest person
they could find and made a big show out of it." They will be consumed
with guilt and self-medicate to try to get through the coming years.
You better find yourself a therapist because that's what you're going to
need to avoid killing yourself as you live with the guilt over what you
did, over what shameful things you did.
Dayanne
Figueroa, a U.S. citizen and paralegal, said an unmarked government
vehicle struck her car at the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street in
Chicago on the morning of October 10, while she was on her way to get
coffee before going to work.
“I
was in shock and terrified,” Figueroa told Newsweek. “Instead of
handling the situation as a routine traffic incident, the masked agents,
armed in hands, forcibly removed me from my car without questions and
without informing me that I was under arrest.”
The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that Border Patrol
was making a targeted arrest when Figueroa’s vehicle blocked agents and
struck an unmarked government vehicle.
That's
what they said. But they take after the head of their department,
Kristi Noem. You know, the woman who stood before God and country and
promised to love and honor Byron Noem but then, by press reports
including the conservative NEW YORK POST, in 2021 began her ongoing
extra-marital affair with Corey Lewandowski who, for the record, is also married and per NEW YORK last month,
the affair continues. Also continuing? His employment under her.
She's a liar, the employees under her are liars. Doubt it? Back to the
article:
Footage
obtained by Newsweek appears to show armed federal agents detaining
Figueroa, dragging her by the legs to remove her from her vehicle. Some
agents brandish guns, and bystanders can be heard shouting, “You hit
her,” as the situation unfolds.
Additional
video obtained by Figueroa’s family from another witness provides a
different angle of the encounter. The bystander who is filming tells
federal agents: “You hit her. We all saw it.”
“You
guys are f*****g scumbags, f*****g Nazis. They hit her car. You guys
hit her, and you f*****g know it,” the bystander is heard saying.
“As
agents were departing, the driver, a U.S. citizen, struck an unmarked
government vehicle,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told
Newsweek.
Eye
witnesses and video from two different angles do not support the false
claims being made by Homeland Security. They need to be sued.
And,
in fact, the woman whose car was hit? She should develop whiplash and
sue the department for damages. In fact, anyone in their car when
Homeland Security hits them should get a good personal injury attorney.
Money's
the only thing these whores understand. Ethics? A term they never
learned. But hit them in their bank account enough and they might do a
little adjustment.
Let's drop back to Wednesday's snapshot since Homeland Security's Trish wanted to dish with a lie -- something's she' become known for:
Again, tell a lie and you're a
made person in the Chump mob and they don't fire you. Look at Kristi
Noem and the people under her. Farrah Tomazin (DAILY BEAST) notes:
Homeland
Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her department have been accused of
lying to the public after being caught passing off an old photo of a
drug boat to promote Trump’s war on narco-terrorists.
On
Monday, the DHS News account posted a photo on X designed to discredit
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who had accused Trump of murdering an
innocent fisherman in an attack on a boat the U.S. claimed was run by
drug smugglers.
“Colombian President claims one of the
Narco boats destroyed by the US Naval Task Force was ‘just a poor
Colombian fisherman’. Does this look like a fishing boat? It looks like
he had tons of bait (cocaine, attracts lots of fish). Colombian
president is a liar!!” the post said.
The photo featured the rear of a motorboat, with what appeared to be numerous bags of drugs.
However,
the post was deleted after social media users pointed out that it came
from a 2024 operation that took place about 1000 kilometers south of the
Canary Islands, which was reported at the time by Spanish newspaper El
PaÃs.
“This photo is from a drug bust that
occurred in 2024, zero ties to the current situation,” said a community
note that was added to the post as a consumer-based fact check.
A
senior ICE official is under fire after publicly sharing a 13-year-old
child's information — and an expert warns it "could lead to serious
consequences."
DHS spokesperson Tricia
McLaughlin, 31, who is the most senior public affairs official under
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, revealed the identity, alleged
criminal history and a photo of the child detained by ICE, The Daily
Beast reported Monday.
McLaughlin is accused of sharing children's information not just once, but multiple times.
Her
social media post and the DHS actions “could lead to serious
consequences inside the government, such as an Inspector General
investigation, disciplinary action, or even congressional scrutiny," Los
Angeles-based criminal defense attorney Arash Hashemi told The Beast.
Public
anger was rising after a Brazilian-born seventh-grader in Massachusetts
was reportedly taken by federal agents to a juvenile detention center
more than 500 miles away from his family.
In an attempt to stop the public criticism, McLaughlin and DHS tried to use social media.
"They
claimed that the boy had an 'extensive rap sheet,' while listing some
of his apparent past offenses. They also stated—falsely, it
transpired—that he had been in possession of a firearm," The Beast
reports.
It's illegal for DHS or law enforcement to share a child's information.
McLaughlin lied about him having a gun? See, they lie and then they lie again.
Again, Trish is a known liar.
Let's address other issues. Ben at MEIDASTOUCH NEWS coves a new topic, an ad using a speech delivered by then-President Ronald Reagan which condemns tariffs and has outraged Donald Chump.
War Criminal Steven D. Green is dead. AP's Brett Barrouquere, who has long covered Green, reports
the 28-year-old Green was found dead in his Arizona prison cell on
Saturday and that, currently, the operating belief is that it was a case
of suicide.
May 7, 2009 Steven D. Green (pictured above) was convicted for his crimes in the March 12, 2006 gang-rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi,
the murder of her parents and the murder of her five-year-old sister
while Green was serving in Iraq. Green was found to have killed all
four, to have participated in the gang-rape of Abeer and to have been
the ringleader of the conspiracy to commit the crimes and the conspiracy
to cover them up. May 21, 2009, the federal jury deadlocked on the death penalty.
Alsumaria explained,
"An ex-US soldier was found guilty for raping an Iraqi girl and killing
her family in 2006 while he might face death sentence. . . . Eye
witnesses have reported that Green shot dead the girl’s family in a
bedroom while two other soldiers were raping her. Then, Green raped her
in his turn and put a pillow on her face before shooting her. The
soldiers set the body afire to cover their crime traces."
As
the jury entered the court room, Green(red sweater vest) let out a
large sigh, not of relief, but seemingly of anxiety, knowing the weight
of the words to come. As Judge Thomas Russell stated "The court will now
publish the verdict," Green interlaced his fingers and clasped them
over his chin. Russell read the verdict flatly and absolutely. Green
went from looking down at each "guilty" to eyeing the jury. His
shoulders dropped as he was convicted of count #11, aggravated sexual
abuse, realizing what this means. A paralegal at the defense table
consoled Green by patting him on his back, even herself breaking down
crying at the end of the verdicts. After
Russell finished reading the verdicts, he begged questions of the
respective attorneys. Wendelsdorf, intending to ensure the absolution of
the verdict, requested the jury be polled. Honorable Judge Russell
asked each juror if they agreed with these verdicts, receiving a
simple-but-sufficient yes from all jurors. Green watched the jury
flatly.
We covered Green and his War Crimes here in depth and repeatedly. Some ignored, some that you would think would be covering it. At one point, a left site e-mailed me that they couldn't cover it because they didn't have this or that and couldn't afford to use the photo that AP owned.
That's the photo above. And I posted on that saying here's my copy use it. My copy wasn't as dark as AP's. They scanned their photo to be dark. They got their photo from the same place I got mine -- it's Green's mug shot. It's not an AP photo. They got a public photo, with no copyrights on it, and slapped their name on it and called it copyright. Again, no one steals more copyrights than the media.
Taxpayers owned the photo of Green, they own Reagan's speeches delivered while president. That's reality.
THE NEW YORK POST is squealing like the pig they are about how Todd Blanche and the Justice Dept are threatening California over proposals to arrest ICE agents who break the law. It's a conspiracy they insist!
They don't know what the hell a conspiracy is -- that's THE POST, that's Todd, that's the Justice Dept. There are laws around the country in every community. Those laws are in place for a reason. Government officials discussing the need to enforce the laws? Not a conspiracy and I don't think the biggest Trumper judge in the world would agree that this was a conspiracy -- even before you add in the fact that this issued is being discussed publicly by government officials in California.
You have to obey the law.
ICE is breaking it. California is within their rights to address people found to be breaking the laws.
At present, they're only talking about after the fact. They're not talking about doing it in the middle of an operation. I would be in favor of active arrests but that's not what's being discussed.
ICE cannot break the law. There are laws in place and if they don't like those laws? They can work to change them. But you're not going to beat up people in the streets -- or in a courthouse hallway as with the thug that pushed the woman down and ICE tried to pretend they were shocked by one of their own before putting him quietly back on the payroll -- and get away with it.
Kristi and Chump apparently told them anything goes. No, that's not the case. They have to operate within the frame work of the law. If they break the law, they can be arrested just like ayone else.
It's amazing because Steven D. Green got arrested.
And no one in the military screamed, 'You can't do that!"
That's the military police!
No, it wasn't. He had discharged and flown home and was arrested by the US government as he got off the plane.
The military is not above the law. But Chump wants to put his gestapo above the law?
Oh, hell no.
Todd Blanche needs to watch his public statements. They're ignorant and reveal that he is sadly out of his depth in his government position.
Just another incompetent appointed by Chump.
Now we need to talk about the White House. There are so many issues and we can't cover everything in the snapshot.
I think they've done a great job. I've posted videos here but avoided comment myself. That's because of the type of person I am. I can be cold. You get a surprise death in the family? You want me there. Any kind of emergency or surprise? You need me. I can zoom in and focus on the most pressing issues.
Loss of objects is never my most pressing issue. But the groups we're speaking to are driving home to me just how important the destruction of the East Wing is to Americans.
So, quickly, Donald Chump does not respect history or, for that matter, this country. He's destroyed the White House -- physically destroyed. It was not his to do so. But he doesn't care. He'll talk "America first!" but then save Argentina cattle ranchers at the expense of the American people.
History does matter. Where we were and how we got to the present matters. But not to an uneducated con man like Chump. It's all for sale in his mind. There are no public commons, everything can have a tag slapped on it and sold.
This is what happens when someone with no respect for the institution or the people of this country is president. We need to be sure this never happens again.
And people are right to be upset about this. It was a slap in the face to this country.
Apparently, Chump fancies himself First Lady. This really would be a First Lady project, after all. Maybe all these years of wearing his orange foundation on his face (more recently on his hands as well) has allowed him to get in touch with Miss Donald and let whatever's left of his hair down.
But what he did was wrong and goes to the huge disrespect that he has for the American people.
We'll wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
ICYMI:
Senator Murray Statement on House Passage of “Big, Ugly Betrayal”
Cutting Health Care & SNAP for WA State Families to Fund Tax Cuts
for Billionaires
Senator Murray briefly relied on food stamps as a child
and has always fought to fully fund SNAP benefits; Murray fiercely
opposed Republicans when they passed the largest cuts to SNAP in
American history this summer by passing their Big Ugly Bill.
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined
Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM),
and 42 of their colleagues to send a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke
Rollins calling on the USDA to release the billions of dollars at its
disposal to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
benefits continue in November.
The senators raised the alarm about the USDA’s failure to use available funding to continue SNAP, writing: “We
were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to
stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your
recent comments that the program will ‘run out of money in two weeks.’
In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable SNAP
benefits to be paid through or close to the end of November.”
“First, the USDA must, at a minimum under the law, use the
contingency funding that is available for SNAP, as noted by USDA
officials. Second, the USDA has interchange authority under 7 U.S.C.
2257 that permits the transfer of funds from other USDA nutrition
programs. In fact, this authority was recently used by the USDA when it
transferred money from child nutrition programs to the WIC account to
maintain WIC benefits during the shutdown,” the senators continued.
“In the event that more resources are needed than what is
available in contingency funding, the USDA should explore all legal
means to augment funds to pay the full amount of SNAP benefits in
November. Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of
groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance.
We urge you to immediately communicate to states and committees of
jurisdiction the USDA’s plans to disburse the contingency funding to
state agencies and utilize all available legal authorities so that
American families can get benefits without interruption. Democrats
remain at the table and ready to negotiate reopening the government,” the senators concluded.
In addition to Senators Murray, Booker, Klobuchar, and Luján,
Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet
(D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Maria
Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV),
Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ),
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM),
John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark
Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Edward Markey (D-MA),
Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex
Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen
(D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA),
Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina
Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Mark
Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon
Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) signed the letter.
The full text of the letter to Secretary Rollins is available HERE and below.
The Honorable Brooke Rollins
Secretary U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Secretary Rollins,
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is our nation’s
largest food assistance program, serving 42 million people, including 16
million children, 8 million seniors, and 4 million people with
disabilities. Any halt in SNAP funding will have devastating impacts for
program beneficiaries, increasing food insecurity and undermining
family budgets. Given the critical importance of SNAP benefits, the USDA
must take all steps possible to ensure that families do not go hungry.
We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states
to stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your
recent comments that the program will “run out of money in two weeks.”
In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable SNAP
benefits to be paid through or close to the end of November. First, the
USDA must, at a minimum under the law, use the contingency funding that
is available for SNAP, as noted by USDA officials. Second, the USDA has
interchange authority under 7 U.S.C. 2257 that permits the transfer of
funds from other USDA nutrition programs. In fact, this authority was
recently used by the USDA when it transferred money from child nutrition
programs to the WIC account to maintain WIC benefits during the
shutdown. In the event that more resources are needed than what is
available in contingency funding, the USDA should explore all legal
means to augment funds to pay the full amount of SNAP benefits in
November.
Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries,
and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance. We urge you
to immediately communicate to states and committees of jurisdiction the
USDA’s plans to disburse the contingency funding to state agencies and
utilize all available legal authorities so that American families can
get benefits without interruption. Democrats remain at the table and
ready to negotiate reopening the government.
