The White House is getting a taste of its own medicine, with Democratic-led states using government websites to blame President Donald Trump for the fallout of the government shutdown.
In an extremely Trumpy move, several blue-state agencies have begun posting partisan-sounding notices accusing Republicans of triggering the federal funding lapse, which entered its 22nd day on Wednesday with no end in sight.
The approach mirrors the White House’s own messaging earlier this month, when multiple federal agency websites carried banners blaming the shutdown on the “radical left.” Critics said those messages risked violating the 1939 Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities.
The government shutdown began Oct. 1, after Republican spending proposals failed to secure the 60 Senate votes needed for passage and the White House rejected Democrat demands for increased spending on healthcare. It threatens to halt Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, better known as food stamps, starting Nov. 1, potentially cutting off aid to the nation’s most vulnerable families.
Some Democratic-led states have now copied the Trump administration’s messaging tactic, posting banners on websites that pin the blame on Republicans for the looming SNAP disruption, Axios first reported.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services website said in a banner published Friday that November SNAP benefits “cannot be paid” because “Republicans in Washington, D.C., failed to pass a federal budget, causing the federal government shutdown.”
“Federal officials with the Trump Administration have told all states that if the Republican federal government shutdown continues, it won’t pay for SNAP (food stamp) benefits in November,” the Illinois Application for Benefits Eligibility website said. “As a result, SNAP customers will not receive November food benefits—unless there is further action from the Trump administration to reopen the government.”
On Friday, the California Health and Human Services Agency said the federal government has shut down “due to the failures of the President and Congress to continue government funding.”
“The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) and its departments are closely monitoring the federal government shutdown and its impacts on Californians,” its website said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
The shutdown will continue until Congress reaches a deal on a funding bill. The last shutdown, during Trump’s first term in 2018-19, lasted for 35 days—the longest in U.S. history.
A Tuesday meeting between Trump and Senate Republicans appeared to harden GOP resolve to hold out against Democrats, whom the president labeled “obstructionists.”
“From the beginning, our message has been very simple: We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs,” Trump said.
Federal employees, who got only a partial paycheck earlier this month, are now expected to miss their first full paycheck on Friday.
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