Claim:
in 2025 in July Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson voted in favor of the bill, which provides for $186 billion in
Rating:
Rating: True
in 2025 In late October, an online claim claimed that US House Speaker Mike Johnson had signed into law President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” a few months ago, and that the law purportedly cuts $186 billion.
The Department of Agriculture reported that SNAP benefits help about 42 million Americans buy food. The program began in 1939, called the Food Stamp Program.
Users shared this statement about the Louisiana Republican in the final days of October, as Democrats and Republicans shifted blame for the ongoing government shutdown. For some politicians and consumers, what matters most during the shutdown is the uncertainty over whether millions of Americans will continue to receive SNAP benefits through November.
As an example of a claim, on October 29 A user who runs a Facebook page called “The Resistance” posted a meme (archived) with the caption: “Speaker Johnson is ‘deeply sorry’ that millions of Americans will lose SNAP benefits this week, but he signed the $186 billion bill 3 months ago. SNAP.
(The Resistance/Facebook)
The meme featured an attribution to California D-US Rep. Sarah Jacobs’ official X account, along with a photo of Johnson and other Republicans giving the post-2025 thumbs-up. budget bill. Jacobs posted (archived) the same Republican headline and photo on Oct. 28.
Other users also shared the same caption, meme or screenshot of Jacob’s post on Bluesky (Archived), Facebook (Archived), Instagram (Archived), Threads (Archived), TikTok (Archived) and X (Archived).
Long story short, Johnson did indeed sign the budget bill after he voted for the legislation, as shown in an authentic photo of Republicans giving thumbs up next to the table where he affixed his signature. The Senate passed the bill on July 1st and then on July 3rd. House of Representatives. Days earlier, on June 28, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that the bill would cut SNAP by nearly $186 billion. USD over the 10-year period from 2025 to 2034.
The nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that the projected SNAP cuts were the largest. It also reported that in the previous 2025 The May version of the bill proposed an even higher amount, about $295 billion.
Snopes reached out to Johnson’s office via email. email for comment on the lawsuit and will update this article if we receive more information.
More on the bill’s SNAP cuts
Before the budget bill passed, The Associated Press reported that the CBO projected that one-third of the bill’s SNAP cuts would shift costs to states that administer the program to those in need:
Legislation passed by Congress is projected to reduce federal SNAP spending by $186 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
More than a third of those savings come from expanded work requirements for SNAP participants, which the CBO believes would force some people out. Another third comes from shifting costs to states that administer SNAP.
Another provision of the bill would cap annual increases in food benefits due to inflation, saving the federal government tens of billions of dollars through 2034.
in 2020 CBPP emphasized the importance of SNAP not only to consumers, but also to retailers and the local economy. The organization specifically called SNAP “an important public-private partnership that helps families purchase basic nutrition, creates business for retailers and boosts local economies.”
With uncertainty surrounding federal food aid recipients heading into November, local TV stations WYSM in Michigan, WMUR in New Hampshire, KABB in Texas and other media outlets have reported that SNAP recipients without access to the program could hurt not only consumers, but also grocery stores, including in rural areas. KATU Oregon also reported a “growing need” at rural Oregon food banks after an increase in families seeking help in October.
Johnson’s “deeply regrettable” remark
Jacobs cited Johnson as saying he was “deeply sorry” that millions of Americans would lose SNAP benefits, according to reports from House Republicans.
October 28 Politico reported on the conversation during the interview, which included the quote “deeply regretted.” The publication cited four anonymous sources. Snopes could not independently verify quotes from the private call.
The Politico article read in part (emphasis ours):
“Things are getting real” this week, Johnson said, as he braces his members for the worst real-world impact of the shutdown yet. He called on Republicans to stay away as “pressure mounts on Democrats,” including on key terms that will affect millions of low-income Americans. Four people with direct knowledge of the call were granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
“The pain register is about to hit level 10,” Johnson said, adding that “unfortunately” 42 million Americans will be affected this weekend when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments end. “We deeply regret it on our end,” he added, blasting Democrats for their tactics.
For more reading, we previously reported that during the government shutdown, Johnson said the Republicans who controlled the House, Senate and White House were not “in charge” of the government. He cited the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
Sources:
“A Brief History of SNAP | Food and Nutrition Service”. USDAhttps://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/history#2008%20fcea.
Bergh, Katie et al. “House Reconciliation Bill Proposes Largest SNAP Cut in History, Would Take Food Assistance From Millions of Low-Income Families.” Center on Budget and Policy Prioritiesin 2025 May 28, https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/house-reconciliation-bill-proposes-deepest-snap-cut-in-history-would-take.
Bolen, Ed, and Elizabeth Volkomir. “SNAP boosts retailers and local economy.” Center on Budget and Policy Prioritiesin 2020 May 28, https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/snap-boosts-retailers-and-local-economies.
“The Numbers: Senate Republican Leadership’s Reconciliation Bill Deprives Millions of Food Aid”. Center on Budget and Policy Prioritiesin 2025 June 30, https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/by-the-numbers-senate-republican-leaderships-reconciliation-bill-takes.
Cobler, Paul. Ending SNAP could hurt Texas grocers and the rest of the economy, experts say. KABBThe Texas Tribune, 2025 October 29, https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/snap-cutoff-could-hurt-texas-grocers-and-the-rest-of-the-economy-experts-say.
“The estimated budget impact of the amendment is to replace HR 1, one big, beautiful bill, compared to the baseline level of budget execution that needs to be considered in the Senate.” Congressional Budget Officein 2025 June 28, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61533.
Guskin, Emily. “Americans Increasingly Concerned About Government Shutdown, Blame Republicans, Trump More Than Democrats: Poll”. ABC Newsin 2025 October 30, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/americans-increasingly-concerned-government-shutdown-blame-republicans-trump/story?id=127019678.
Hill, Meredith Lee. Johnson Says ‘Things Are Getting Real’: House Plans No SNAP Fix Politicalin 2025 October 28, https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/28/congress/mike-johnson-shutdown-snap-00625211.
“HR1 is the act of one big beautiful bill.” Congress.govhttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text.
Lieb, David A. “A Look at What Will Happen to Food Assistance Under Trump’s Big Tax Cut Law.” Associated Pressin 2025 June 11, https://apnews.com/article/food-stamps-snap-states-trump-2c604216d26a9edf84fe502136be6d6f.
Mascaro, Lisa, et al. “Trump’s Big Tax Bill Heads to President for His Signature”. Associated Pressin 2025 July 3, https://apnews.com/article/trump-big-beautiful-gop-taxes-ced365c347de9320eef2ccb8df16dda2.
Masquelier-Page, Alice. “Senate Passes Trump’s Big Tax, Spending Cut Bill as Vance Breaks 50-50”. Associated Pressin 2025 July 1, https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/senate-passes-trumps-big-tax-and-spending-cuts-bill-as-vance-breaks-a-50-50-tie/.
“Ending SNAP benefits would hurt consumers and grocers.” YouTubeFox 47 News, 2025 October 27, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgmpPpc-mlc.
“Percent of Population Receiving SNAP Benefits in Fiscal Year 2024 | Economic Research Service”. US Department of Agriculturehttps://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail?chartId=55416.
“Roll Call 190 | Account Number: HR 1.” Clerk’s Office | US House of Representativesin 2025 July 3, https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025190.
“US Senate: On filibusters and storm | historical overview”. US Senatehttps://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture/overview.htm.
Varlam, Vasiliy. “Empty Shelves, Growing Need at Oregon’s Rural Food Banks as Federal SNAP Cuts Boom.” KOHin 2025 October 29, https://okcfox.com/news/nation-world/empty-shelves-growing-need-at-rural-oregon-food-banks-as-federal-snap-cuts-loom-state-university-michael-kuhn.ministrson-trumpie-adnel
“Watch the moment Mike Johnson signs a big beautiful bill after the House passes it.” YouTubeForbes Breaking News 2025 July 3, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fslPwaI8tBs.
Wexler, Talia. Trump’s ‘big beauty’ bill would cut $186 billion from SNAP by 2035 – how states could deal with the changes. CNBCin 2025 August 8, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/08/trumps-spending-bill-cuts-billions-in-snap-benefits.html.
Williams, Krizia. Stop SNAP benefits from undermining stores in rural areas, say supermarkets. WMURin 2025 October 29, https://www.wmur.com/article/supermarkets-snap-benefits-rural-areas-102925/69192658.