To snap is to break suddenly and completely. What the Trump administration is doing to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is less a fracture than a deliberate twisting – a slow, painful break in the backbone of America’s safety net. This is cruelty as policy, hitting the most vulnerable, including many Trump supporters in La Plata County and across the country.
More than 42 million Americans depend on SNAP – 39% are children, 42% are adults, and 19% are seniors. In Colorado, about 584,000 residents – 9.8% of the population – rely on it. In La Plata County, 5,069 people and 2,866 households countywide – about 9% of the population – receive benefits, about half children and many more seniors, veterans, and residents with disabilities (Herald, Nov. 2). These aren’t statistics; they’re real people – families and neighbors trying to keep food on the table.
SNAP’s authorization lapsed at midnight Nov. 1 when funding expired amid the shutdown. By law, the USDA must halt benefits once appropriations end – unless emergency funds are released. Yet again, the administration chose defiance over duty.
Now more than 35 days long, this shutdown is the second longest in U.S. history, behind Trump’s own in 2018–2019. On Monday, Nov. 3, Trump said he would release $4.65 billion from an emergency fund – half the $8–9 billion needed for November benefits – though it could take weeks. Judges ordered the government to use every available mechanism to keep the program running. Instead, it refused to draw from a $30 billion reserve for child-nutrition programs, claiming it would “create a deficit.” The real deficit is in the grocery budgets of millions of Americans.
SNAP benefits arrive at the start of each month. When they’re late or halved, families face empty refrigerators by midmonth and impossible choices between food, medicine, and heat – especially in rural Colorado as winter sets in.
Adding insult to injury, the administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” imposed stricter work requirements while delivering huge tax breaks to billionaires. This is taxpayer money that should come back to taxpayers. Most recipients who can work already do, and these mandates threaten aid for caregivers, people with disabilities, and seasonal workers.
Meanwhile, Republican-led states have the 25 Democratic-led states – including Colorado – to thank for suing the USDA to force full SNAP payments. This lawsuit finally compelled the administration to act. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed Democrats “want to give handouts to undocumented immigrants,” insisting Trump “won’t tolerate waste or fraud.” Last Friday, Trump falsely added that “SNAP is mostly used by Democrats,” ignoring that participation tracks poverty, not party. SNAP fraud is historically low, and nearly all beneficiaries are U.S. citizens – many of them children, seniors, and veterans. This isn’t about fraud; it’s about politics.
The partisan fire-throwing must stop. Americans are hurting. Federal workers remain unpaid. Food costs are rising. Local food banks are scrambling. It’s indecent for any administration to boast of fiscal restraint while millions go hungry in the wealthiest nation on earth.
Still, there are flashes of reason and hope. Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO-3) co-sponsored the Bipartisan Premium Tax Credit Extension Act (H.R. 5145) in September to prevent premium spikes for Colorado families. On Nov. 3, he joined Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) to propose a two-year extension and reform of the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits – pairing affordability with oversight. It’s a pragmatic, humane approach, the kind of bipartisan cooperation needed to reopen and fund government agencies, programs, and personnel. It’s a rare act of courage in a cynical Congress.
As Thanksgiving nears, gratitude must become action. Learn about and support local food programs via the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado’s CERF: SNAP Fund (Herald, Nov. 2) to make your dollars go further than purchasing and donating food yourself, visit the Good Food Collective (goodfoodcollective.org/snap-relief) and the Herald’s Durango Cares resource page (https://www.durangoherald.com/durango-cares/), free to all. They’re doing what Washington will not: feeding Americans.
Food assistance and health care are not partisan luxuries; they are moral obligations. This administration is playing with fire – and it’s the American people getting burned.
