{"id":1053529,"date":"2025-06-11T23:37:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T03:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1053529"},"modified":"2025-06-11T23:37:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T03:37:29","slug":"trumps-134-million-political-game-is-costing-americans-much-needed-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-134-million-political-game-is-costing-americans-much-needed-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s $134 Million Political Game is Costing Americans Much-Needed Relief\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"449\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1050776\" srcset=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png 1101w, https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?resize=300,132 300w, https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?resize=768,337 768w, https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?resize=1024,449 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If Donald Trump were really serious about fighting waste and abuse in the U.S. government, he\u2019d stop politicizing the military for political games. The American people are suffering under Trump\u2019s disastrous economy and chaotic agenda. Instead of providing much-needed relief, Trump is funding his campaign of revenge and retribution against perceived political opponents by wasting <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/live-updates\/trump-admin-updates-live\/?id=122650591&amp;entryId=122695846\">$134 million<\/a> in taxpayer dollars that could have gone toward helping the American people.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Here\u2019s a look at what $134 million could be used for instead:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FOOD FOR 70,000 HUNGRY FAMILIES AND CHILDREN:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The average monthly SNAP benefit is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/other\/state-indicator\/avg-monthly-snap-benefits\/?currentTimeframe=0&amp;sortModel=%257B%2522colId%2522%3A%2522Location%2522%2C%2522sort%2522%3A%2522asc%2522%257D\">$188<\/a> per person\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For $134,000,000, <strong>Trump could have provided SNAP benefits for over 70,000 Americans<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instead, Trump worked with House Republicans to pass a bill that will slash <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2025\/05\/14\/congress\/house-agriculture-committee-approves-300-billion-in-nutrition-spending-cuts-00350900\">$300 billion<\/a> in food assistance \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2025\/05\/14\/congress\/house-agriculture-committee-approves-300-billion-in-nutrition-spending-cuts-00350900\">largest<\/a> cut in modern history\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MEALS FOR 12.7 MILLION HUNGRY SENIORS:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The average cost of a meal through Meals on Wheels is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mowp.org\/faq\/\">$10.50<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For $134,000,000, <strong>Trump could have provided meals for more than 12.7 million seniors<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instead, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/arthurdelaneyhp\/status\/1884257138421424387?s=46\">froze funding<\/a> for Meals on Wheels as part of his disastrous funding freeze at the start of his term\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BOOST JOB TRAINING FOR HOMELESS VETS BY OVER 50%:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2024, the VA spent <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/136057\/vas-homelessness-budget-where-the-dollars-go\/\">$250 million<\/a> on employment and job training for homeless veterans\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For $134,000,000, <strong>Trump could have boosted funding for these training programs by over 50%<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instead, Trump is taking a <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-and-musk-canceled-critical-veterans-affairs-contracts-and-gutted-services\/\">wrecking ball<\/a> to the VA and putting veterans\u2019 care at risk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>REHOUSE MORE THAN 15,000 HOMELESS VETERANS:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The average cost per year for rapid rehousing of a veteran household was <a href=\"https:\/\/endhomelessness.org\/resources\/research-and-analysis\/how-much-would-it-cost-to-provide-housing-first-to-all-households-staying-in-homeless-shelters\/#015a4190-7af0-4122-a965-68fce1b9f57e-link\">$8,486<\/a> through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For $134,000,000, <strong>Trump could have rehoused 15,700 homeless veterans\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instead, Trump is firing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3326969\/va-layoffs-concerns-veterans-care\/#google_vignette\">staff<\/a> and cutting veterans off from critical medical treatment \u2014 including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/trump-veterans-affairs-budget-staff-cuts-jeopardize-cancer-research\">\u201clife-saving cancer trials\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PROVIDE EMERGENCY RELIEF FOR OVER 175,000 DISASTER VICTIMS:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>FEMA\u2019s \u201cserious needs\u201d assistance costs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/fema_national-community-engagement-webinar-presentation.pdf\">$770<\/a> per household, helping provide funds for emergency needs like food, water, and baby formula\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For $134,000,000, <strong>Trump could have provided over 175,000 people suffering from natural disasters with urgent relief\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instead, Trump is leaving <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/fema-denies-north-carolina-request-100-cost-sharing\/story?id=122270931\">North Carolinians<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2025\/06\/04\/st-louis-waits-for-aid-as-fema-response-to-missouri-disasters-is-slowest-in-15-years\/\">Missourians<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/westvirginiawatch.com\/2025\/04\/29\/femas-refusal-to-help-some-west-virginia-counties-just-a-taste-of-whats-to-come\/\">West Virginians<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysanantonio.com\/news\/south-texas\/article\/abbott-cornyn-trump-fema-aid-20283388.php\">Texans<\/a> stranded and is pushing to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/03\/26\/noem-fema-restructure-eliminate-grants-00250610\">shut down<\/a> FEMA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If Donald Trump were really serious about fighting waste and abuse in the U.S. government, he\u2019d stop politicizing the military for political games. The American people are suffering under Trump\u2019s disastrous economy and chaotic agenda. Instead of providing much-needed relief, Trump is funding his campaign of revenge and retribution against perceived political opponents by wasting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1053529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Trump\u2019s $134 Million Political Game is Costing Americans Much-Needed Relief\u00a0 - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-134-million-political-game-is-costing-americans-much-needed-relief\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-12T03:37:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-12T03:37:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-134-million-political-game-is-costing-americans-much-needed-relief\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-134-million-political-game-is-costing-americans-much-needed-relief\/\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s $134 Million Political Game is Costing Americans Much-Needed Relief\u00a0 - 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