SNAP, WIC and the government shutdown: Federal policy impacting southwest Ohio this week

• Retailers and SNAP: Grocers and retailers who accept SNAP funds are bracing for a drop in sales starting this weekend as funding for the federal food assistance program dries up amidst the nearly month-long government shutdown. Nearly 48 million Americans depend on SNAP benefits. A representative of the Ohio Grocers Association told this news outlet that grocery stores and retailers are preparing to deal with customers who may not understand why their funds are not there.

• State relief: Before DeWine’s announcement, Ohio lawmakers on Wednesday contemplated authorizing the state to pay for food stamps and other federal subsidies before federal funding lapses on Nov. 1, though ultimately nothing was done. Ohio Senate Democrats proposed amending a bill to authorize the state of Ohio to use its nearly $4 billion “rainy day” or Budget Stabilization Fund to continue funding SNAP benefits in Ohio in the event of a federal lapse. Republicans unanimously argued that it is not the state’s responsibility to make amends for the federal government’s dysfunction, and that using the state’s budget stabilization fund to pay for social programs is outside the fund’s intended purpose.

• Local efforts: Some governments are shifting funds to organizations that fight hunger in our region. The Montgomery County commission approved an additional $500,000 award for Foodbank, Inc., to assist the organization’s expected uptick in demand after SNAP benefits are delayed in November.

• Ohio senators and tariffs: Signs of dissent were bubbling on Capitol Hill among Republicans over Trump’s use of tariffs, as the Senate voted three times this week to lift a series of import duties levied by the White House. But both Sen. Bernie Moreno and Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio stood with Trump and voted against the anti-tariff resolutions. “A Jeep plant in Toledo is being expanded by Stellantis because of tariffs,” Moreno told reporters off the Senate floor. “Why the heck would we ever reverse that? That’s insane.”

• A third term?: Trump said “it’s too bad” he’s not allowed to run for a third term. The president’s comments, which continue his on-again, off-again musings about a third term, came a day after House Speaker Mike Johnson said it would be impossible for Trump to stay in the White House. The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment does not allow for a third presidential term and changing that, with a new amendment, would be a cumbersome, decade-long process winning over states and votes in Congress, Johnson told reporters.

• Military pay: Vice President JD Vance said he believes pay for U.S. military members is on the horizon, though he did not specify how the Trump administration will reconfigure funding as pain from the second-longest shutdown spreads nationwide. The vice president reaffirmed Republicans’ strategy of trying to pick off a handful of Senate Democrats to vote for stopgap funding to reopen the government. But nearly a month into the shutdown, it hasn’t worked.

• Federal employees: A federal judge barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown. The American Federation of Government Employees and other labor unions have sued to stop the “reductions in force” layoffs, saying the firings were an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress.