Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is urging the Trump administration to release $6 billion in contingency funds to prevent food assistance cuts for 923,000 Arizonans and 42 million Americans affected by the ongoing government shutdown. The administration’s reversal on using the funds for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits could halt November payments, leaving millions without food support.
Hobbs called the decision “appalling,” accusing President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans of using vulnerable families “as leverage” in budget negotiations. SNAP provides aid to roughly 12% of Arizonans, including children, older adults, and working families, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Arizona’s Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego joined 44 colleagues in pressing Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to release the funds, warning of “dire consequences” if payments stop.
Republican State Rep. Walt Blackman blamed Democrats for blocking a stopgap funding bill, calling on Hobbs to declare a state of emergency and coordinate food relief if federal aid lapses. Meanwhile, advocacy group LUCHA plans a Phoenix food drive Thursday, saying families may soon have to choose “between food and rent.”
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