Elections for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, and for mayor in New York City are set to take place on Tuesday. President Donald Trump made a final effort to influence the NYC race by endorsing former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and threatening to hold back federal funds to the city if Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani wins.
“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home,” said Trump in a post on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, there are still no signs of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the government shutdown, which started on Oct. 1. That means the current suspension of federal funding is set to become the longest in U.S. history, surpassing the previous 35-day record.
The administration has agreed to use emergency funds to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, going during the government shutdown. The government said in a filing Monday there was about $4.65 billion in emergency funding to cover roughly 50% of monthly payments for eligible households. SNAP benefits typically total about $8 billion a month for approximately 42 million people.