Washington D.C — In a recent speech by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in Arizona, Congressman Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) stood alongside Secretary Rollins as she falsely claimed the SNAP cuts he and his Republican colleagues voted for are moving some of the people who lost benefits “into the American Dream.” That’s certainly one way to characterize millions of people losing access to basic food assistance. The reality is that Congressman Ciscomani and Republicans in Congress are simply ripping food away from 3.5 million people and at least 720,000 children – all so billionaires could get another tax break.
Arizona has been hit especially hard. SNAP enrollment has nosedived by 42% following the Ciscomani-backed cuts. That is more than 373,000 Arizonans who are now struggling to put food on the table because Congressman Ciscomani wanted to give billionaires and big corporations massive tax breaks. This comes as food costs continue to skyrocket and more than 10% of households report not having enough food in their home.
“Far from moving people into the American Dream, Congressman Ciscomani and his Republican colleagues’ SNAP cuts have been nothing short of a nightmare,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “Millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of children, now have to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table. Rather than celebrating this disaster, Congressman Ciscomani and his Republican colleagues need to reverse course and undo these disastrous cuts to SNAP.”
“I’m a single mother of three, and I drive for Lyft full time to support my family. Even working full time, I’ve been unable to access SNAP benefits since March thanks to Republicans’ cuts to SNAP,” said Tucson, Arizona resident Angelica G. “Costs are already rising everywhere because of Republicans’ tariffs and their war in Iran, and cutting food assistance is pushing families like mine over the edge. It’s difficult to work so hard to make ends meet just to watch Republicans in Congress give even more tax breaks to billionaires while cutting food services that families like mine rely on.”
Common Dreams: Trump Official Tells Millions Kicked Off Food Aid That They’re ‘Moving Into the American Dream’
Key Points:
- The head of the US Agriculture Department on Thursday celebrated that millions of people have lost federal nutrition assistance under the second Trump administration, declaring that families who have seen their modest aid disappear are closer to realizing “the American dream.”
- Speaking at an event in Arizona, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins—who has an estimated net worth of around $15 million—said that the Trump administration has “moved about 4 million off of SNAP.”
- Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), wrote in response that “unless the Trump administration has redefined ‘the American dream’ to mean ‘losing the help your family needs to afford groceries because of federal cuts,’ I have some bad news for Secretary Rollins.”
- During his State of the Union address in February, Trump boasted that his administration has “lifted” millions of Americans off SNAP, falsely suggesting that the mass loss of benefits was attributable to stronger economic conditions rather than deliberate policy changes designed to boot people from the program.
- “Economic conditions haven’t been improving as the number of people receiving SNAP has plummeted in recent months, representing the sharpest decline in decades,” CBPP noted in a recent analysis.
- Arizona, the state Rollins visited on Thursday, saw a roughly 50% decline in the number of people receiving SNAP benefits between January 2025 and February of this year, with hundreds of thousands of people losing benefits.
- One Tucson, Arizona resident, a single mother of three, told the Unrig Our Economy coalition on Friday that “even working full-time, I’ve been unable to access SNAP benefits since March thanks to Republicans’ cuts.”
- “Costs are already rising everywhere because of Republicans’ tariffs and their war in Iran, and cutting food assistance is pushing families like mine over the edge,” said the mother, identified as Angelica G. “It’s difficult to work so hard to make ends meet just to watch Republicans in Congress give even more tax breaks to billionaires while cutting food services that families like mine rely on.”
- Rollins’ comments Thursday came amid a flurry of data showing the weakness of the US economy and the struggles of working-class families under Trump’s leadership, from rising inflation to falling personal savings rates.
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.