Gillibrand: Trump Is Ripping Food From The Mouths Of New York Families To Pay For Tax Cuts For Billionaires

Gillibrand: Trump Is Ripping Food From The Mouths Of New York Families To Pay For Tax Cuts For Billionaires

Aug 24, 2026

New Federal Data Shows SNAP Enrollment Has Fallen More Than 13% Nationwide Under Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill"

More Than 200,000 New Yorkers Have Been Pushed Off Food Assistance

Today, in response to new data showing that enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has dropped by more than 13% since May 2025 - just before Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" passed with massive SNAP cuts - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released the following statement:

"At a time when people can barely afford a cart of groceries or a tank of gas, this president is kicking families off food assistance to fund tax cuts for the richest people in the country - and pouring billions into a war overseas while he does it," said Senator Gillibrand. "He has money for the wealthy. He has money for war. But somehow, he has nothing for parents trying to feed their children in Buffalo, or Rochester, or the Bronx. Those are not the values of this country, and I will fight to reverse these cuts."

New federal data reported by the Associated Press shows that SNAP enrollment has plunged from 42.2 million Americans in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026 - a drop steeper than the government itself projected. In New York, more than 200,000 people have already fallen off the rolls, and more than 300,000 households are at risk of losing some or all of their food assistance by the end of the year.

These New Yorkers having food ripped away from them and their families is the direct and intended result of what President Trump and Republicans believe is their greatest legislative accomplishment: handing tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations, paid for by taking food off the tables of children, seniors, and working families.

The cuts land at a moment when families are already stretched to the breaking point. Grocery bills and gas prices remain painfully high, and Gillibrand has repeatedly warned that the administration's own policies are driving costs up rather than down. Against that backdrop, the president is simultaneously pouring billions of dollars into waging war overseas - money spent abroad while American families are told there is nothing left for them at home.

This massive drop in enrollment comes as President Trump's cuts to SNAP have yet to even fully take effect. Starting October 2026, states will have a larger burden to administer the program. This burden will be forced onto counties, as New York is one of only three states where counties pay the full non-federal share of SNAP administrative costs. The New York State Association of Counties estimates that $168 million will now be shifted to county budgets. Additionally, starting October 2027, the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" will shift the cost of SNAP benefits onto states, forcing states to either bear the cost or choose not to participate in SNAP at all.

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