CNN’s Pam Brown Absolutely Pounds Trump Honcho Over SNAP-Food Stamps In Relentless Grilling

CNN anchor Pamela Brown relentlessly grilled Trump Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins over the administration’s fight against paying full SNAP benefits during the shutdown, repeatedly interrupting to fact-check her.

President Donald Trump repeatedly appealed federal court decisions ordering the government to pay SNAP benefits (commonly known as “Food Stamps”) — including to the Supreme Court.

On Thursday’s edition of CNN’s The Situation Room, Brown pressed Rollins about that fight, and repeatedly shot down the excuses she was given:

PAMELA BROWN: You know, part of that addressed what Republicans saw as issues with SNAP. And now some people have been taken off the program as a result. But I just want to get back on track here because I understand you’re putting the blame on Republicans, but.

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: On Democrats.

PAMELA BROWN: I mean, sorry, to be clear on Democrats, to be clear, there’s no doubt. But during the 2019 shutdown, for example, that’s the second largest shutdown, obviously, the Trump administration said in multiple USDA documents that contingency funds could be used to fund SNAP in the event of a funding lapse. What changed?

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: Well, I was with the president during that shutdown, but I was in the West Wing. I was obviously not at USDA. I was the domestic policy council. I was not part of those discussions. I will just tell you what I know this time, that the president 100% believed that the government would reopen, that these Democrats were playing games with people’s lives and the food that they needed to survive, that at the end of this, surely these Democrats wouldn’t go. 25 days, 30 days, 45 days, and that we would get this fully funded once the government reopened.

Now, obviously, you all tracked this. When it went to the court, the court said contingency funds can be used. It’s not unconstitutional. The president said, Brooke, we’re not going to fight that. We need to keep this moving, get these partial benefits to the people that are truly hungry. And so that was the back and forth over the last couple of weeks.

PAMELA BROWN: Right. But also, it and just reading through the court filings, the judge also said, and this was the judge in Rhode Island, that there was money available in other funding pots, like the one that was used for WIC. $750 million was transferred to WIC out of this other funding pot.

This judge said, you didn’t do that. You didn’t use that. You could have to fully fund SNAP, and you fought it all the way to the Supreme Court.

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: Let’s talk about that.

PAMELA BROWN: Okay, let’s talk about it.

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: That judge in Rhode Island is the largest Democrat donor.

PAMELA BROWN: But besides that, let’s look at the facts. There is a section 32–.

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: –radical left judge who decided that we could take money. Listen, there went a no-kings rally, a no kings parade, but then all of a sudden a radical left judge in the Rhode Island of all places says, oh no, please make yourself king and find that money out of the clear blue sky and redirect it into SNAP.

PAMELA BROWN: There was 23 billion in section 32 the child nutrition program and so he this judge– is is this not factual? The judge says that four billion could have been moved from that section 32 fund to fully fund SNAP. Politics aside, is it an accurate– those facts?

PAMELA BROWN: This radical left judge. No, that is not facts. That money is congressionally appropriated and authorized for a different set of facts.

…

PAMELA BROWN: She wanted the government to reopen and then she dissented in the latest one saying she would have funded SNAP.

I just want to go back on this because in reading through the court cases The government did admit to the judge and this was I believe the judge in Boston that yes It could have dipped into this child nutrition fund, that that was an available option.

This fund again had 23 billion dollars in it. Right? And that even if you took out four billion to fully fund snap that pot of money would still feed children through next year.

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: Well, let’s talk about that. I mean, are we serious right now? Are we really talking about moving billions of dollars from one pot to another to feed children through next year when the Democrats, 15 different times, voted not to fund this program?

PAMELA BROWN: I understand you want to keep it on Democrats, but what about the children that were hungry now because they didn’t get the full SNAP benefits.

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: They should understand that the Democrats are the ones that are keeping, they even admitted it. This is our greatest leverage point. If planes fall out of the sky, that may be what it takes. It was one thing after another, Pamela. For you to try to put this back on, this court said that and this left-leaning judge said that. You guys should move this. It’s completely a false narrative.

PAMELA BROWN: I’m not trying to that’s why I’m asking you these are just the facts these are in court cases This is what the USDA has previously said from the 2019 shutdown

But Brown wasn’t done yet. Later in the interview, she reopened the issue by asking Rollins, “where is the humanity” in fighting those benefits — then fact-checked her some more:

PAMELA BROWN: Look at the facts, in 2019, SNAP was able to be funded. When you look at, um, the court cases, I understand in principle you say, who is a judge to say what we need to do moving money around?

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: A judge from Rhode Island?

PAMELA BROWN: But if there is money that is available that could be moved around, like was done for WIC, like was done to pay military members, and, and according to the information we have, that could done in the immediate future.

What do you say to someone who would ask, well, where is the sense of humanity? Why are you fighting this? Why are going to the Supreme Court on this and fighting it? Where is the since of humanity.

SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS: Oh Pamela! I mean, really, where is the sense of humanity when 15 different times, over 45 days, they themselves admitted they were holding Americans hostage to a, you know, $200 million for health care for illegal aliens, $50 million for NPR and left-leaning media centers, millions for LGBTQ programs in the Balkans and in other countries around the world. Are you serious right now?

…

PAMELA BROWN: And just to be clear, illegal immigrants are not eligible to enroll in health care programs in the US. I just want to point that out. But I know we have done a ton of reporting on this. If you guys want to go look at it, go look at it.

Watch above via CNN’s The Situation Room.