During the government shutdown the lid was blown off what appears to be a run-away scam in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) findings shared in an appearance on The Ingraham Angle by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the numbers are nothing short of astonishing. In twenty-nine states that responded to the USDA investigation, over 5,000 deceased individuals are still receiving SNAP benefits, and 500,000 people are collecting SNAP twice under the same name. That’s just the tip of the iceberg; across all fifty states the totals may be vastly higher.
The levels of fraud and theft of our tax dollars is mind-numbing. https://t.co/XQfJFP2yeB
— Lisa Mei (@TheNotoriousLMC) November 13, 2025
Rollins laid it out plainly: “This light has now been shined on one of the most corrupt, dysfunctional programs in American history!” She further noted that “80 percent of able-bodied Americans — they can work, don’t have small children, and aren’t caring for an elderly parent — yet they choose not to work because they are getting significant benefits from the taxpayer.” The USDA is promising “very big announcements next week” as part of a reform plan.
The SNAP program’s original purpose was noble: temporary assistance for citizens facing hardship. But what we’re seeing now is a system being abused with taxpayer dollars funding phantom recipients, duplicate claims, and individuals who should already be working but aren’t. At roughly 42 million people receiving SNAP and a cost of around $100 billion per year to U.S. taxpayers, the burden has grown intolerable. If even a fraction of that money is siphoned off due to fraud or abuse, working Americans are subsidizing a system that has lost its way.
The implications are enormous. First, the discovery of thousands of dead people still receiving benefits shows a breakdown in the checks and balances that are supposed to protect taxpayer funds. Second, the revelation of half a million duplicate claims under the same name reveals how porous the system has become. Third, the claim that able-bodied individuals are opting out of work because welfare has become a longer-term substitute for employment raises fundamental questions about the incentives in place.
Secretary Rollins insists change is coming. Reform appears imminent, and the government may require massive re-application, stricter vetting, and tighter oversight of every benefit dollar issued. If that happens, it would mark a turning point in how SNAP operates, shifting it back toward its intended role and cutting out the waste that has dragged it into scandal.
Oh come on. It’s “only” 5000 deceased people. Can’t let them starve ya know! Oh, wait…..