California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he’s deploying the National Guard to help families affected by federal food aid disruptions during the government shutdown.
In a post on X, he blamed President Trump and congressional Republicans for putting millions of Californians at risk of going hungry, claiming the state is acting quickly to prevent it.
“California is deploying [The California National Guard] to quickly assist families whose federal food benefits are halted because of Donald Trump’s government shutdown,” wrote Newsom. “We won’t let the GOP’s cruel inaction force millions of Californians to go hungry.”
California is deploying @TheCalGuard to quickly assist families whose federal food benefits are halted because of Donald Trump’s government shutdown.
We won’t let the GOP’s cruel inaction force millions of Californians to go hungry.
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) October 22, 2025
The decision follows reports that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as CalFresh in California, is running short on funds amid the shutdown, jeopardizing aid for approximately 5.5 million residents, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The National Guard will assist with humanitarian efforts at food banks and distribution centers.
Newsom called the deployment a temporary measure to protect vulnerable families and urged Congress to restore funding, warning the shutdown is worsening food insecurity ahead of the holidays.
Notably, Newsom resisted Trump’s unilateral deployment of the National Guard in California earlier this year. He filed a lawsuit after Trump federalized Guard units and redirected them to Los Angeles in response to protest-driven unrest, a move Newsom called an “illegal and immoral” breach of state sovereignty, despite some of these protests resorting to violence. A federal judge concurred, ruling the action likely violated the Posse Comitatus Act and ordering the return of Guard control to the governor.
