A woman in New York State who supported President Donald Trump says she now regrets her decision after the ongoing federal government shutdown disrupted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Betty Szretter, 63, a caregiver for her daughter who depends on SNAP, told NBC News that the situation has left her disillusioned.
“I think deep down he wants to help the country with things like food insecurity,” she said. “But now he is busy out of the country and demolishing the White House. I know that is being paid for with private funds, but those could be used to help people.” “It all seems very selfish,” Szretter added.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides food assistance to roughly 42 million low- and no-income Americans. The ongoing shutdown, now stretching into its second month, has disrupted these benefits and fueled mounting criticism toward the Trump administration.
Buffalo resident Szretter, who once backed Trump, told NBC News she would now prefer a Democrat in office to “protect benefits he wants to cut.”
Her daughter, Hannah Szretter, 26, said she relies on SNAP to maintain her diet and manage her Type 1 diabetes, as her mental health condition prevents her from working.
“I need these benefits for my food. If I don’t get the food, I won’t be able to control my numbers,” she said. “If you don’t get it taken care of, you can lose toes or limbs, or could go blind.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had initially announced on its website that “the well has run dry,” warning that no SNAP benefits would be issued on November 1 due to the shutdown.
Following a series of court orders, the agency said on Monday it would draw $4.65 billion from a contingency fund to cover about half of November’s food stamp payments. However, USDA official Patrick Penn told the court that many states could face delays of weeks or even months because of differences in their systems.
President Donald Trump addressed the issue on Truth Social on Friday, writing: “I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
In a court filing, the USDA noted that this approach would leave “no funds for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely.”
Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar criticized the administration, saying in a statement: “It is not enough to do the bare minimum—the administration should stop playing politics with hunger and use all available resources to ensure Americans can put food on the table.”
As the shutdown drags on, it remains unclear when the federal government will reopen or when the Department of Agriculture will be able to restore full SNAP payments to millions of Americans in need.
