Hassett: ‘If SNAP benefits run dry, it's because they haven't been funded by the Democrats’

Thank you. I have to start by getting your reaction to the breaking news. These two federal judges' rulings. One saying it's likely that the administration's suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful. Another ordering the administration to use contingency funds to keep those benefits from lapsing tomorrow for more than 40 million Americans. Will the administration comply and pay those SNAP benefits?

Look, first of all, it's incumbent on the Democrats to open the government and fund these programs. And I think that the legal precedent that the administration has been looking at says that basically we've got funds that are set aside for emergencies, for things like hurricanes and terrible disasters. And rather than open the government, the Democrats' point of view is that we should throw our rainy day fund away so that if at two weeks we have a disaster, we have no more money left rather than just opening the government, which we've tried to do over and over and over again. And so we're very disappointed that the Democrats are putting people's hunger on the table when they should just open the government and then we could talk about whatever else they want to talk about. But absolutely, 100%, there are 750,000 or so government workers that aren't being paid. There are people that there's not enough money even in the emergency fund to cover for very long the food benefits. So how long are the Democrats going to wait to open the government? That's really the question. And so I think that the liberal judges weren't correct on this ruling. I think that our legal analysis is that we have to use the emergency money for emergencies. But if you think about it, we're in something that a Democrat judge is willing to say is an emergency because the Democrats won't open the government.

You know, if you look at it, this is the third time there's been a government shutdown when President Trump is in the White House. And so what the Democrats have done is they've decided that the only way to slow down our momentum, which is terrific, is to shut the government down and take away people's SNAP benefits and take away salaries for the 750,000 government workers. And that is their choice. They're choosing to do that. And our choice is to open the government. And again, like who's to blame? Remember that under President Biden, 13 times the Democrats and Republicans voted to keep the government open while they debated the policies. That's the way the government is supposed to work. But again, this is the third time. This is the third time. So I think that President Trump is already the gold medal winner for having the Democrats shut down his government the most in US history. I'd have to go back and check, but I don't think there's another president that's had the government shut down three times. It's the Trump derangement syndrome is what's explaining this and nothing else.

I don't, I'm an economist. I don't make legal judgments about that. I haven't seen, I haven't talked to the White House counsel about next steps.

I don't know. I don't know.

It's well, it's set up for national emergencies, but I think by definition what the Democrats need to do is get people their SNAP benefits. Get the government workers their salaries. They need to get the government open and then if they have policy disputes, then they could take them to the Senate and the House and through regular order have debates with the president. President Trump has said over and over again, I'm happy to meet with the Democrats once they get the government open.