California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom invoked the Bible to criticize Republican hesitance toward food stamps as the government shutdown threatens federal welfare services.
Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will not be issued on Nov. 1, according to a report from CBS News.
Democrats have taken issue with that reality, chiding Republicans as uncompassionate or even anti-Christian for noting that the system of federal taxpayer dollars funding groceries for 42 million people is unsustainable.
Newsom cited the Bible as he hosted a news conference describing how California intends to subsidize groceries amid the lapse in federal funding.
He also recalled his education at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit school, conflating commands about private Christian charity with the modern welfare state.
“If there was anything I remember about my four years with Father Coz, is that the New Testament, Old Testament have one thing dominantly in common — in Matthew, Isaiah, Luke, Proverbs, go down the list — it’s around food. It’s about serving those that are hungry,” he said.
Newsom: The New Testament and Old Testament have one dominant thing in common—Matthew, Isaiah, Luke, Proverbs, go down the list—it’s about food, about serving those who are hungry. It’s not a suggestion; it’s core and essential to what it means to align with God’s will.
I say… pic.twitter.com/FnVIumBYiR
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 28, 2025
“It’s not a suggestion in the Old and the New Testament — it’s core and central to what it is to align to God’s will, period full stop,” Newsom added.
Do you trust Gavin Newsom?
He jabbed that Republican lawmakers must have received an “edited version of Donald Trump’s Bible” in which they “edited all of that out.”
Newsom then accused Republicans of “intentional cruelty.”
“I say that because these guys need to stop the B.S. in Washington, D.C., as they’re sitting there in their prayer breakfasts,” he said.
The White House rejected the premise of Newsom’s comments.
“It’s preposterous that Newsom, who shuttered churches during COVID and recently derided the power of prayer, is now attempting to manipulate religion to fit his own political agenda,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News.
She was referring to Newsom saying “these children were literally praying as they got shot at” in response to Republicans who support the Second Amendment praying after a school shooting.
These children were literally praying as they got shot at. https://t.co/H7RGZhCTFc
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 28, 2025
“President Trump wants the government open — the Democrats’ insistence on keeping it shut down is hurting the American people,” Jackson added.
“But they could prevent these harms by simply reopening the government. Instead of distorting religion for political means, Newsom should urge his fellow Democrats to reopen the government.”
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