Jake Tapper clashes with House Dem in heated exchange: 'May not be a big deal for you!'

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) clashed with CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday over looming cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, otherwise known as food stamps.

Funding for SNAP is set to expire Nov. 1 if Congressional lawmakers are unable to reach a deal to reopen the federal government. Allowing the funding to expire could put more than 40 million Americans at risk of facing food insecurity, according to estimates.

Tapper and Stansbury discussed the potential impact of cuts to SNAP during Tuesday's broadcast of "The Lead with Jake Tapper."

The clash began after Tapper asked Stansbury if she supported a proposal from Rep. James Comer (R-KY) to limit who presidents can offer pardons to. Comer's proposal comes on the heels of a report by the House Oversight Committee, which he chairs, that President Joe Biden's pardons are unenforceable.

"They are about to cut off food assistance to millions of Americans," Stansbury said. "And so I think it's bizarre that Chairman Comer is going on TV talking about an investigation into a former president who is not even a sitting president over a non-issue while literally Americans are about to starve."

Tapper then claimed that SNAP funding is going to run out because of a "disagreement" over contingency funding, a claim that Stansbury pushed back on forcefully.

"I'm a former OMB official, and I can tell you that OMB is breaking the law right now," Stansbury said. "Congress has appropriated the dollars, and state attorneys general have filed suit today in federal court to compel the administration to release those funds, because they are breaking the law."

"Let me just be clear, the money for contingency plans is sitting there," she added. "That is why the states are suing. The White House is withholding funds from children to have food."

Tapper claimed the disagreement is over two or three weeks of SNAP funding.

"It may not be a big deal to you!" Stansbury responded.

"It is a big deal to me," Tapper shot back. "My point is that it is a short-term solution."