Unhappy with what he views as a political blame game being spread by taxpayer-funded state communications, Sen. Ryan Fattman shut down the Senate’s session after just a few minutes Monday and suggested he might do the same on Thursday unless the messaging changes.
The Sutton Republican told the News Service after the shortened session that he hoped to “send a message” about the Healey administration pointedly blaming President Donald Trump for the looming lapse in SNAP benefits on the Department of Transitional Assistance website and in emails and text messages to recipients.
With SNAP benefits at risk of lapsing lapsing for about 1.1 million Bay Staters starting Saturday as a result of the federal government shutdown, the DTA website says that “President Trump is currently choosing to not issue November SNAP benefits that help you and many families put food on the table” and the same language went out in emails and text messages.
“The message has been, you know, blame the president, blame the Congress. It’s very specific about who they’re blaming. And to me, that type of resource — when it’s paid for by taxpayer money — shouldn’t happen,” Fattman said. “To be fair, it’s happened on the federal level. The president has put out that message. It’s wrong, it’s not mature, it needs to end. And I’m very disheartened with the fact that we’re doing it here in Massachusetts. It’s wrong, it’s immature, it needs to end.”
Republicans and Democrats in Washington have been unable to agree on bills to fund government operations for the last four weeks and leaders of the two major parties have blamed each other for the shutdown and for the impacts it is starting to have on families across the country. Republicans control both branches of Congress and Democratic leaders in Congress have signaled that they don’t plan to provide votes from their caucuses to reopen the federal government unless their demands over health care are met.
Asked about casting blame in official state communications, Healey doubled down later Monday.
“My job as governor is to be straight with people in Massachusetts. The facts are that Donald Trump, right now, is refusing to fund SNAP even though he’s got the funds to do it. The facts are that every other president during a federal shutdown, has continued SNAP benefits for kids, for our seniors, for people with disabilities, even during a shutdown using contingency funds. Donald Trump is choosing not to do that. Donald Trump is choosing not to feed people in America, including in Massachusetts,” she said. “Those are the facts. That is the truth. People need to understand what’s really happening right now.”
The governor amplified her point later Monday with a social media video of her comments to reporters at the State House when asked about the looming lapse in SNAP benefits.
The Healey administration is not placing blame for all shutdown-related impacts as directly at Trump’s feet. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s website includes a note about the delay in the state’s release of state employment and labor force data “due to the ongoing federal government shutdown” without assignment fault for the shutdown.
The partisan sniping around SNAP escalated in recent days and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has on its website a notice specifically blaming U.S. Senate Democrats for the impending expiration of SNAP benefits.
“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 said.
Addressing the communications from the state DTA, Fattman continued, “The problem is that we have conveyed a political message on taxpayer resources, and that should upset everyone. And it doesn’t matter if it’s the federal government, the state government or the local government, it is ethically questionable. And I think it’s wrong.”
The senator also suggested he could grind the session the Senate has planned for Thursday to a halt unless there is a change in messaging from the administration.
“Personally, I think it’s wrong. And that’s what I’m trying to do, raise awareness. And we could play this game Thursday, too. You know, I think that should come down,” he said.
Fattman brought about an early end to Monday’s session by doubting the presence of a quorum. Because a quorum of senators was not on hand and could not be rallied in about 10 minutes, the branch adjourned until Thursday at 11 a.m. Sen. Sal DiDomenico of Everett was presiding and Millbury Sen. Michael Moore arrived in the chamber about 10 minutes after Fattman’s motion, but no other senators were present on Monday.
The agenda for Monday’s session showed that the Senate was prepared to act on local bills affecting Conway, Holden, Watertown and Natick, and was going to name three senators to negotiate a compromise version of a $2.3 billion spending bill with the House. That business is likely to resurface on Thursday’s agenda.
