The California Department of Social Services is texting residents, blaming the imminent lapse of food stamp benefits on President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
The Daily Wire reviewed several screenshots of the message, which stated that “President Trump & Congress failed to reopen federal government. Nov. CalFresh benefits will be delayed. Oct. benefits unaffected. Visit cdss.ca.gov.” The message is similar to one posted on their website.
It is unclear whether the messages were sent only to Californians who receive food stamps or to a wider swath of the electorate. When The Daily Wire reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office for comment to confirm the authenticity of the texts, they replied, “Seriously?” and pointed the finger at Trump for supposedly politicizing the shutdown.
California Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio told The Daily Wire in a phone interview that the texts are “outrageous.”
“It’s a pack of lies — offering propaganda in the middle of an election so that politicos can avoid the accountability for their failures,” DeMaio said, referencing the upcoming vote on Proposition 50, which would gerrymander California congressional districts more in favor of Democrats. “This is as outrageous as you can get when it comes to taxpayer money being used to promote lies to try to impact the outcome of a pending election.”
When pressed on the issue, Newsom’s office then directed The Daily Wire to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service webpage, appearing to suggest both sides were engaging in partisan messaging. The USDA website banner reads “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry.”
“At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,” the USDA message continues.
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“Every American must have affordable healthcare, and that’s why I’m fighting in Washington, D.C., even if it means shutting this government down,” Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) said in a recent commercial through his official office, the New York Times reported.
As for California, Republicans blasted the message sent out to residents, including Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), who said Newsom “continues to peddle misinformation for partisan gain, now using official channels.”
“It is exactly this kind of excessive partisanship that has caused this shutdown that is having terrible consequences for millions of Americans. Unfortunately, those consequences are worse in California than anywhere, as our state leads the nation in poverty and unemployment,” Kiley told The Daily Wire in a statement.
“I voted to avoid a shutdown and have always done so during both the Biden and Trump administrations. We need to get the government back open immediately,” the congressman continues.
