A prominent House Democrat erupted in anger at President Donald Trump and Republicans for “weaponizing” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) after Trump threatened to withhold funds in defiance of federal court orders. Hours later, the White House moved to walk back the president’s remarks.
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the Ranking Member of the powerful Rules Committee and co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus, denounced the Republican decision to “withhold nutrition assistance,” calling it “disgusting,” “immoral,” and “wrong.” He also condemned the Trump administration as “cruel” and “heartless.”
“Donald Trump talks about ‘America first,'” McGovern said. “What about the 16 million American children who rely on SNAP? Or the eight million American seniors who are worried sick about where their next meal comes from? Or the one million American veterans who have to choose between health care and staying fed?”
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McGovern also condemned Republicans for telling “everyday Americans that you have to pick between food and healthcare. I mean, who the h– comes up with that kind of sick, twisted choice?”
“Look,” McGovern continued, “the truth is, these guys don’t give a s– about everyday people. They’ve never gone hungry. They don’t even buy their own groceries, and they’ll never have to choose between putting food on the table or paying for healthcare. They have private cooks and concierge doctors.”
“Republicans are choosing to go after nutrition assistance,” he said. “Trump is doing this because he is a bad person. He’s a lousy president and an even worse human being. He’s weaponizing hunger and trying to rip food away from more than 40 million Americans, including 16 million children, for sadistic political leverage.”
“How dare he? How dare he exploit the pain of hungry Americans?”
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“How dare he starve poor children who go to bed hungry?”
“These people are sick in the head,” McGovern charged. “They take food away from poor folks on Friday, and then they go to church on Sunday and proclaim to be good Christians. I’m not sure where in the Bible, it says that starving children makes you a good person. I must have missed that part.”
“But my faith tells me something else. It tells me that there’s a special place in hell for people who rip food away from hungry families,” he said.
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