Did Trump administration use $750M in tariff revenue to keep WIC running?

Just after midnight on Oct. 1, 2025, the U.S. government entered a shutdown resulting from a partisan deadlock regarding how Congress would appropriate funding in 2026. Democrats in the Republican-led Congress, as of this writing, continued to hold the line on their health care campaign; they demanded a reversal of U.S. President Donald Trump's Medicaid cuts and an extension of tax credits that made insurance premiums more affordable. Republicans said the demands were a nonstarter, given the cost to taxpayers and claims that extended tax credits would allow "illegal" immigrants to access free healthcare.

In the first month of the shutdown, the government furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers, while others worked without pay. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding depleted over Halloween weekend, leaving millions of Americans without food stamps.

We've checked multiple claims related to the shutdown, including that Democrats voted against SNAP funding 12 times, whether the Trump administration would allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use contingency funding to provide at least partial SNAP benefits and a rumor that Democrats wanted $3.6 million in cooking classes and dance focus groups for "Haitian male prostitutes" as a condition for reopening the government.

The longest government shutdown in history took place during Trump's first term, lasting 34 days. If Democrats and Republicans remain at an impasse, there is a chance the 2025 shutdown will surpass this record. Below are 16 articles breaking down the facts.