Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., addresses reporters at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 5, 2025. (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
As Senate Democrats have pushed the shutdown into the longest on record, they still aren’t ready to reopen the government, even as millions who rely on food stamps from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are only set to get partial benefits.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus have remained firm in their demand that they get a guarantee to extend expiring Obamacare premium subsidies in exchange for their votes to reopen the government.
Democrats have blasted President Donald Trump and his administration for threatening to not fund federal food benefits. Earlier this week, Trump said that food stamps would not be funded despite a court order requiring that they at least be partially paid for.
"They're the ones who shut down the government," Lummis said. "They won't reopen it, and so they got nothing to complain about. It's within their control to reopen the government. It's in their control."
His administration has since changed course, however, and announced in a memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that Americans that rely on the benefits would receive 65% of their typical allotted amount. A federal judge then ordered the administration to fully fund food benefits by Friday.
"We're finding out that it's hurting the union workers, it's hurting air travelers, it's hurting people who rely on food stamps. I mean, it's hurting Democrats," Feehery said. "Their higher priority is showing that they're tough against Trump, and they're more than happy to use their constituents as cannon fodder."
SCHUMER, DEMS CALL 'BULL----' ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER FOOD STAMP SHUTDOWN THREAT
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., speaks to a reporter after a vote in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, July 23, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
But many in the caucus say that’s not enough, and demand that Trump sit down and meet with Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to hash out a deal.
Democrats also believe that Republicans are feeling the heat from Tuesday night’s elections, where Democratic candidates swept their Republican opponents in statewide elections, and they point to comments Trump made that the shutdown was hurting the GOP.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., contended that what Trump meant was Democrats were using the shutdown "to fire up their base."
"But I think it's also incredibly sad that SNAP recipients and federal workers and their families and Head Start families all had to go without so they could help the New York City election," Lankford said. "And that's pretty sad."
Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., who is running for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, told Fox News Digital, "Every day the Schumer Shutdown drags on, Americans pay the price — missed paychecks, canceled flights, and threats to public safety. Democrats aren’t helping anyone, they’re sowing chaos and achieving nothing."
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Still, Democrats largely remain firm that the only off-ramp they want starts at the White House.
"Shutdowns are terrible. I mean, I don't know what to tell you," Sen. Bryan Schatz, D-Hawaii, told Fox News Digital. "It's really awful what people are going through. And the only way out of this is a negotiation."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/twisted-irony-democrats-risk-betraying-own-pet-issues-government-shutdown-gamble