Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L Robbins And Senators Bill Haggerty and Marsha Blackburn. Also Rep. John Rose and Governor Bill Lee speaking at the Tennessee State Fair.. Photograph by John Partipilo/ Tennessee Lookout ©2025
Tennessee Sen. Blackburn to support food program funding during shutdown
State’s senior Republican joins other GOP senators in measure but blames Senate Democrats for “holding government funding hostage”
Amid bickering about funding the nation’s food program for the poor in a government shutdown, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Monday she is backing legislation to keep it from lapsing.
Blackburn joined Republicans in signing the Keep SNAP Funded Act to make sure it continues without interruption as the federal government shutdown drags into November, WSMV reported.
Funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would make sure 1 in 10 Tennessee residents who depend on the program continue to receive benefits, Blackburn said. She blamed Senate Democrats for “holding government funding hostage to appease their far-left base,” according to the report.
Blackburn, a Tennessee gubernatorial candidate, made the announcement Monday with some 690,000 state residents on the brink of losing food assistance next month as the one of the longest federal government shutdowns in the nation’s history continues.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declined to act last week, saying the state isn’t capable of uploading funds to SNAP recipients’ cards.
House Democrats reacted late last week by urging him to call a special session to fund the food program for the poor, disabled and elderly. They increased their criticism Monday by pointing out Republican governors in Virginia and Louisiana declared emergency orders in their states to approve food assistance for children and elderly and disabled adults.
Likewise, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, sent a letter to Gov. Lee requesting he take action to avert a lapse of the food program.
The government shutdown has turned into a war of words between the two political parties since Democrats held up a vote in the Senate in an effort to persuade Congress to turn back cuts to Medicaid and subsidies for the Affordable Care Act as part of President Donald Trump’s “Great Big Beautiful Bill.”
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson told colleagues recently to prepare for an onslaught of calls about SNAP and other services that could be affected by the federal shutdown. He predicted hundreds of state employees paid through federal funds will be furloughed if it continues into November.
Johnson, a Franklin Republican, said his caucus members should make sure constituents know “this is a Schumer shutdown,” referring to Sen. Chuck Schumer, leader of U.S. Senate Democrats.
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