A claim that circulated online in late October 2025 said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson had months earlier signed President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," and that the bill purportedly slashed a projected $186 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program federal benefits.
The Department of Agriculture reported SNAP benefits help roughly 42 million Americans buy food. The program dates back to 1939, under the name of the Food Stamp Program.
Users shared this claim about the Louisiana Republican in the final days of October, amid shifting blame between Democrats and Republicans for the ongoing government shutdown. Top of mind for some politicians and consumers during the shutdown — uncertainty regarding whether millions of Americans would continue receiving SNAP benefits into November.
As an example of the claim, on Oct. 29, a user managing a Facebook page named The Resistance posted a meme (archived) with the caption, "Speaker Johnson 'deeply regrets' that millions of Americans will lose SNAP benefits this week, but 3 months ago, he signed a bill with $186 billion in cuts to SNAP. You can't make it make sense."
(The Resistance/Facebook)
The meme displayed attribution to California Democratic U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs' official X account, as well as a photo of Johnson and other Republicans showing thumbs up after passing the 2025 budget bill. Jacobs posted (archived) the same caption and photo of Republicans 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).
In short, Johnson truly signed the budget bill after voting in favor of the legislation, as depicted in an authentic photo of Republicans giving thumbs up next to a desk where he added his signature. The Senate passed the bill July 1, followed by the House's passage July 3. Days earlier, on June 28, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had projected the bill would lead to nearly $186 billion in cuts to SNAP over the 10-year period from 2025 to 2034.
The nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported the projected cuts were the largest-ever to SNAP. It also reported that a previous version of the bill from May 2025 proposed an even larger figure of around $295 billion in cuts.
Snopes contacted Johnson's office by email to request comment regarding the claim and will update this article if we receive further information.
More on the bill's SNAP cuts
Prior to the passage of the budget bill, The Associated Press reported the CBO projected a third of the bill's SNAP cuts would shift costs to states, which administer the program to in-need Americans:
Legislation approved by Congress is projected to cut $186 billion in federal spending from SNAP over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
More than one-third of those savings come from expanded work requirements for SNAP participants, which the CBO assumes would force some people off the rolls. Another third comes by shifting costs to states, which administer SNAP.
Yet another provision in the legislation would cap the annual inflationary growth in food benefits, saving the federal government tens of billions of dollars by 2034.
In 2020, the CBPP highlighted the importance of SNAP not just to consumers but also to retailers and local economies. The organization specifically called SNAP "an important public-private partnership that helps families afford a basic diet, generates business for retailers and boosts local economies."
Amid uncertainty among federal food aid recipients heading into November, local TV stations WYSM in Michigan, WMUR in New Hampshire, KABB in Texas and other news media outlets reported SNAP recipients' potential lack of access to the program could hurt not just consumers but grocery stores, too, including in rural areas. KATU in Oregon also reported of a "growing need" at rural Oregon food banks following an October increase of families seeking assistance.
Johnson's 'deeply regrets' remark
Jacobs' mention of Johnson saying he "'deeply regrets' that millions of Americans will lose SNAP benefits" originated from reporting of a call between House Republicans.
On Oct. 28, Politico reported about the conversation during the call, including the "deeply regrets" quote. The outlet cited four anonymous sources. Snopes could not independently verify the quotes from the private call.
The Politico article read, in part (emphasis ours):
"Things are getting real" this week, Johnson said as he braced his members for some of the worst real-world fallout of the shutdown so far. He urged Republicans to stay in lockstep as "pressure mounts on Democrats" — including key deadlines that will impact 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 "sadly" 42 million Americans will be hit this weekend when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits run out of money. "We deeply regret it on our side," he added, lambasting Democrats for their tactics.
For further reading, we previously reported that, during the government shutdown, Johnson said Republicans — who controlled the House, Senate and White House — weren't "in charge" of the government. He cited the Senate's 60-vote threshold.