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CNN’s Dana Bash confronted House Speaker Mike Johnson over the shutdown’s looming hit to food assistance, asking why he’d reject a partial funding deal to reopen Agriculture. Johnson dismissed it as a stunt, blamed Democratic leaders for prolonging “pain,” and insisted only fully reopening the government is acceptable. The shutdown followed Republicans voting down a Democratic bill on Oct. 1; SNAP benefits could lapse Saturday for more than 20 million households. Johnson disputed using contingency funds as unauthorized by Congress. Meanwhile, Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration over benefits denied to 22 million households.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.