Just three days ahead of the midterms, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance issued the Trump administration a reminder of one of its most infamous past scandals, one that Vance argued had demonstrated its willingness “to sacrifice people for political leverage” and leave them “starving.”
That scandal occurred in late October 2025 amid the government shutdown, and involved the Trump administration’s refusal to fund a federal food assistance program, despite the funding being readily available. That program was the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which was frozen during the shutdown despite the availability of a $5 billion contingency fund established exactly for such an occasion.
“The reality here was that the administration could have spared these families the agony of thinking their children were about to go hungry,” Vance wrote in an analysis published on her Substack Saturday. “The funds were there, and it even had a plan to use them to keep SNAP going during the shutdown, as it had in past ones. But the Trump administration was willing to sacrifice people for political leverage.”
Federal courts ultimately ordered the Trump administration to resume SNAP funding, and the Trump administration conceded, albeit to partial funding.
“But when one judge ordered full funding restored, it appealed,” Vance wrote. “The case reached the Supreme Court but became moot when the shutdown ended.”
The incident, which came to a head in early November 2025, has long been overshadowed by countless other Trump administration scandals — the launching of the deeply unpopular war against Iran, the Justice Department’s botched release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files, and the Trump administration’s violent deportation raids across the country.
Nevertheless, Vance urged her readers to remember the Trump administration’s willingness to use SNAP recipients as political leverage.
“You may have forgotten about this. So much happens every day. A year ago, the Trump administration gambled that we would forget before the midterm elections, and that they could get away with it,” Vance wrote.
“So here we are, remembering. This administration, which adopts the pretense that Trump is god-like, was willing to let Americans starve to try and outmaneuver Democrats on budget issues. And Republicans in the Senate and the House went along with it.”
She continued, “Decide for yourself whether those people should continue to serve as our elected representatives. And make sure you share this reminder with others as Americans continue to vote.”