Trump to hold 11th-hour tele-rallies for lagging GOP candidates in NJ and Virginia governors’ races: Live

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday he’s “optimistic” that a deal could emerge this week that could lead to the government reopening after more than a month-long shutdown.

But when asked if he was confident, Thune responded, “Don’t push it.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the president “cruel and callous” for agreeing to send out partial SNAP payments to comply with a federal judge’s order – believing there is more money to be used to help the more than 41 million SNAP recipients.

“USDA has the authority to fully fund SNAP and needs to do so immediately. Anything else is unacceptable,” Schumer wrote on X.

Democrats have accused the administration of purposefully withholding funding to the food stamps program to pressure Democrats to pass a continuing resolution. The administration has said it legally cannot tap into funds outside of the contingency fund, which only contains enough to support 50 percent of SNAP recipients.

“Trump’s ‘decision’ to follow the court order and only send partial SNAP benefits to 42 million hungry Americans as Thanksgiving approaches is cruel and callous,” he continued, adding that the president should “focus less on his ballroom.”

The Trump administration revealed in court filings Monday that it had given $300 million to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC, amid the government shutdown.

The program, which serves more than 6.5 million women and children in the United States, provides monthly benefits for low-income families for infant necessities such as formula or lactation support as well as access to prenatal healthcare, nutrition for children under the age of 5, food and more. Approximately 41 percent of all infants in the U.S. use the WIC program.

In the federal lawsuit over SNAP benefits, a judge is requesting funding information about funding for WIC, which is often complementary to SNAP. But the administration said it didn’t need to worry about WIC because it transferred $300 million of funding from customs revenue through the Section 32 account.

The Section 32 account permanently appropriates 30 percent of customs receipts from all imports to fund various programs, including the childhood nutrition program, Food and Nutrition Services.

The administration said transferring the funds from FNS to WIC would be less disruptive to the FNS than transferring them to SNAP, which required a great deal more funding. They also said FNS and WIC have the same shared goal of feeding children – thus fall under the same “bureau, division, or office”

It is not clear how quickly states will receive that money to distribute to people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which could take up to two weeks in some states. The Trump administration stopped funding the program November 1.

Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, said any “discussions” of the Democratic lawmaker’s future plans were “pure speculation” after NBC News reported Pelosi is planning to announce her retirement after Election Day.

“As she has said, Speaker Pelosi will not make any announcements about her future until after Prop 50 is settled,” Krager continued.

Pelsoi is joining other California politicians in advocating for the passage of “Proposition 50” which will allow the state to redraw congressional districts to combat Republican-led states doing the same.

President Donald Trump is expected to participate in telephone rallies Monday evening, ahead of Election Day when voters in New Jersey and Virginia will choose their next governor.

In New Jersey, Trump has endorsed Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who is up against Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill.

But the president has yet to directly endorse Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee in the Virginia race. In 2022, Earle-Sears urged the Republican Party to distance itself from Trump, whom she referred to as a “liability.”

However, Trump urged Virginia voters to “vote Republican” over Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger.

The administration will tap into its $4.65 billion contingency fund SNAP for roughly half of eligible households in November, but it’s still unclear when people could expect payments, or exactly how much they’ll receive.

The government spends roughly $8 billion to provide affordable meals and groceries for more than 41 million people in the U.S. But the contingency fund only contains enough to provide benefits to 50 percent of eligible households, the administration said.

The amount of money a household receives is dependent on their income, their household size and which state they live in. Each state caps the amount a household can receive depending on its size. The average monthly benefit is around $190 per person, according to the Associated Press.

The Department of Agriculture said it’s prepared to provide states with more information about how they can determine the maximum SNAP allotments to each household with the reduced funding Monday.

Monday morning, Mamdani laughed when asked about President Trump’s comment that he is “better looking” than the Democratic New York City mayoral candidate.

The Trump administration said in a court filing Monday afternoon that it would send partial payments to the more than 41 million Americans who receive benefits for food stamps, after a federal judge suggested the administration had an obligation to.

In the lawsuit between states and the federal government over the funding of SNAP, which lapsed on Saturday, November 1, the administration said it would comply with the judge’s order to tap into the contingency fund that contains roughly $5 billion to provide some benefits.

But the administration said it would tap into the contingency fund that contains $4.65 billion at the moment to cover 50 percent of eligible households.

“This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” the Department of Agriculture said.

It’s unclear just how much each SNAP beneficiary will receive exactly. The program costs the government roughly $8 billion per month.