Gov. Newsom Deploys California National Guard Over Government Shutdown

The deployment is for a ‘humanitarian mission to support food banks’ during the funding lapse, the governor said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Los Angeles on Sep. 25, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will deploy members of the state’s National Guard during the government shutdown to aid food banks during a possible lapse in funding to the food stamps program.

In an announcement on Oct. 22, the governor’s office stated that Newsom will send Guard members and volunteers on a “humanitarian mission to support food banks as the federal government shutdown delays food benefits for millions of California families.”

Several states and Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins have warned that funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, will cause benefits to be suspended starting Nov. 1.

The government told states this month to halt November data that would allow funds to be sent to people using CalFresh benefit cards, which will affect newly enrolling individuals in the second half of October. About 5.5 million Californians use CalFresh, the state version of SNAP, according to the governor’s office.

“The California National Guard will not be acting as law enforcement. Service members regularly provide support to state civilian authorities, including for Governor-directed missions to support wildfire preparedness and response, tackle deadly drug trafficking, and surge medical capacity during the global COVID-19 pandemic,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.

Writing in a post on social media on Oct. 22, the Democratic governor blamed Republicans and the Trump administration for the ongoing shutdown, which started on Oct. 1. At Day 22, the shutdown is now the second-largest in modern history.

Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over how to end the shutdown. Around a dozen Republican bills that were brought in the Senate have failed, largely across party lines, as Republicans need a 60-vote threshold to overcome.

Democratic leaders have said that health care protections need to be included in a bill to reopen the government, including an extension of health care subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025. Republicans and President Donald Trump have said that any reopening measure should be separated from health care policies.

Trump said on Oct. 21 that Democrats must end the shutdown before he agrees to talks, responding to a request from congressional Democratic leaders.

“I would like to meet with both of them, but I said one little caveat, I will only meet if they let the country open,” he said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Aside from California’s statement, the West Virginia Department of Human Services stated in a Facebook post on Oct. 18 that it is “very likely” that the government shutdown would delay SNAP benefits being sent out in November if the federal government is not reopened “in the coming days.”

The agency noted that the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service also told the state to delay its October benefits that were approved on or after Oct. 16.

In Texas, the state’s health agency stated that residents would not receive SNAP benefits for November if the shutdown persists past Oct. 27. Officials in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota, and other states have sent similar warnings in recent days.