This is Why Congress Should Enjoy the Same Bennies as Labor
Secretary Rollins was trying to convince Americans they could survive on $3 a meal, which included “a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli [and] a corn tortilla.”
AB: I do not know about you, that would be a tough go for me. Think about a McDonald’s burger and fries for $3? Such meals are still out there. You probably could live off off this and maybe switch to a sausage biscuit and hash brown (bring your own water) for ~$3. Maybe $11 a day for three meals? If Snap did not exist, would this be an alternative?
Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross: “Secretary Rollins was absolutely fine telling people who were crying out about affordability of regular groceries just a month and a half ago that basically they just need to eat less. Calling this a civil rights issue, meanwhile taking food away from the disabled, from people who have young children, from folks who are, you know, episodically out of work in a nature of under employment and unemployment reigning supreme . . . I don’t buy it.”
“Kicking 4.3 million Americans off of SNAP is not a flex, it’s a failure,” said Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown.
I am thinking this may be a different time than the announcement of the cutbacks. I can hardly believe a person would think the SNAP cutback is funny. Losing healthcare due to termination of the program or cuts in subsidies is a serious event when affordability comes into play.
“‘4.3 Million Off SNAP and Counting!’ Trump Official Celebrates Mass Loss of Food Aid,” Common Dreams, Brad Reed, May 04, 2026
US Secretary of Agriculture ‘Epic Insider Trading’: Nearly $1 Billion in Crude Oil Shorts Taken Just Before Report of US-Iran Peace Deal | Common Dreamss on Saturday openly celebrated millions of people losing their food assistance, which experts say is a direct result of the Republicans’ 2025 budget law that slashed funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by $186 billion over a decade.
In a social media post pointing to preliminary data from her department, Rollins boasted that there were now “4.3 million off SNAP and counting!”
Rollins added. “Under President Trump, Americans are getting back to work! Healthy employment numbers mean less reliance on government programs. Leaving benefits for those who truly need them. America is back in business!”
In reality, the unemployment rate is currently higher than when President Donald Trump took office in February 2025 and there has been almost no growth in net employment since the president announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs just over a year ago.
The Associated Press on Monday published a fact check of Rollins’ claims about SNAP, finding that Republicans’ cuts to the program were far more likely responsible for the historic drops in enrollment than any purported improvement in the economy.
Caitlin Caspi, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut who studies food insecurity, told the AP that current job creation numbers are nowhere near strong enough to explain the massive number of Americans losing access to SNAP.
Caspi said. “We’re not seeing a linear kind of drop-off. We are not seeing, if you look at the unemployment rates, things that might be an indicator that a strong economy was driving this change. We don’t see, for example, a pattern of decline in unemployment that would match the pattern of decline in SNAP participation.”
Caspi’s analysis was echoed by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), which last week published an analysis finding that “economic conditions have not been improving as the number of people receiving SNAP has plummeted in recent months, representing the sharpest decline in decades.”
Instead, CBPP pointed the finger squarely at the GOP’s budget law as the biggest culprit behind the decline.
CBPP: “The deep cuts to federal funding for SNAP are shifting significant new costs to states. Noting that the GOP law “also dramatically expands SNAP’s already harsh and ineffective provision taking away people’s benefits for not meeting the work requirement.”
Rollins’ claims about SNAP enrollment were also criticized by Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), who expressed disgust that the administration is bragging about kicking people off food assistance during a time when the price of groceries has continued to rise thanks in part to Trump’s own policies.
“Better economy where?” Brown wrote on social media in response to Rollins.
“You mean the one where Americans paid $300 more on their groceries to compensate for Trump’s tariffs? Kicking 4.3 million Americans off of SNAP is not a flex, it’s a failure. That’s why I’ve authored legislation to reverse the Trump SNAP cuts.”