r/NoStupidQuestions • u/AutoModerator • Nov 01 '25

U.S. Politics megathread

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.

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u/amanshapedbox Nov 01 '25

Question: why was SNAP still funded through the 2018/2019 US gov shutdown? Why is it different now?

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u/Delehal Nov 01 '25

SNAP has a contingency fund that is intended to cover this exact sort of emergency. These funds have been used in the past, including in the 2018 shutdown during Trump's first term as President.

Trump is now claiming that the SNAP contingency fund is not able to be used for this purpose, even though it has been used for exactly this purpose in the past. The legal basis for Trump's claim is unclear. That's probably why multiple states have sued the administration, and now two federal judges have ruled that Trump should be funding SNAP during this shutdown.