Reid: “63% of those who get SNAP benefits, what used to be called food stamps, are white, 63% white, non-Hispanic, 40% black, 27% native born. 89%, it’s not undocumented people, it’s native-born people. And so when they did this, it set off a flurry of panic and you could just see it online. People were posting TikToks of themselves hyperventilating, worrying they weren’t going to get their benefits. Then they rescinded it, seemingly under public pressure. Then Karoline Leavitt, who is their spokesperson, tweeted out that the OMB directive is gone, but the freeze still remains. It’s confusing, but apparently now there’s been — what is going on? Because it felt like they rescinded it to stop the lawsuits by these states — “
TANDEN: “But that didn’t — that didn’t work, because the judge actually looked at her tweet, one of the judges looked at her tweet and then implemented a temporary restraining order based on her tweet.”
Reid: “Oops.”
TANDEN: “So, I mean, it’s not clear to me that this has been like a grandmaster chess strategy, but I think that the truth is that actually, this OMB memo is a dry run, because essentially they’re — these are programs, you know, this whole discussion about these programs don’t go to individuals, if the federal government does not pay the Meals on Wheels provider, that cuts off meals to seniors who need Meals on Wheels. Now, I don’t think this is a very complicated concept, but apparently it’s a slightly complicated concept for the White House. But having said that, the truth is, these are — these are cuts to programs across the government. And I think it just is a demonstration of how much opposition there is, because we did see in the last 24 hours, this is the first time they’ve actually even had to backtrack at all.”
Reid: “I mean, other than Matt Gaetz. (Laughs)”
TANDEN: “Other than Matt Gaetz. Yeah. But I think what’s really important to remember is that the big fight is in front of us because what they — with their reconciliation plan, with their budget plan, what they want to do is slash all these programs, particularly Medicaid, slash Medicaid in order to give Elon Musk and all those guys sitting with the president last week giant tax cuts at the expense of people’s health care. And it’s really important to remember, the people who rely on Medicaid, southern states over-rely on Medicaid versus — red states over-rely on Medicaid expansion versus blue states. The ACA premium tax credits go disproportionately to rural communities. And so, you know, I think the big question is, what’s going to happen with that debate? Obviously, this is a critical question, but I actually take a lot of heart that people have been calling members of Congress because they know that harm is on the table to people, police officers, veterans, health care, hospitals. When you slash the Medicaid program, you’re destroying the health care infrastructure in rural America, more than urban America.”
Reid: “More than urban. And by the way, I will note that the poorest states and the states that actually receive more money from the federal government than they give tend to be red states, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee. That’s why they’re — Republicans in those states are like, ‘Whoa, this is going to hurt us.’”