Biden Waves Off Democrats' Warning on Food-Stamp Work Rules: 'It's a Ridiculous Assertion' (May 28, 2023)

President Joe Biden had just announced his debt-limit deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy when a reporter raised the complaint coming from his own party. “Some of your Democratic colleagues are saying that this policy will lead some people to go hungry. What is your response to that?” [1]

“It’s a ridiculous assertion,” Biden said [1]. The criticism was aimed at the deal’s tougher work requirements for food stamps, The National Desk reported [2].

The video above shows the exchange from the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Sunday, May 28, 2023. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”We’ve Reached a Bipartisan Budget Agreement”

Biden opened with the news. “I just spoke with Speaker McCarthy, and we’ve reached a bipartisan budget agreement that we’re ready to move to the full Congress,” he said. “The agreement also represents a compromise, which means no one got everything they want. But that’s the responsibility of governing” [1].

He said the deal “takes the threat of catastrophic default off the table” and “protects Social Security, Medicare, and veterans, and so much more,” and he urged both chambers to pass it [1].

”I Made a Compromise on the Budget”

The first question went straight at his months-long refusal to negotiate. “Mr. President, you said at the beginning that the debt ceiling was not negotiable. Isn’t that what you’ve just done here?” a reporter asked [1].

“You guys—look, we’re not negotiating the debt ceiling,” Biden said. “But if you want to try to make it look like I made some compromise on the debt ceiling, I didn’t. I made a compromise on the budget” [1].

The reporter pushed back: “But that’s what they wanted, is you to make a compromise on the budget, and that’s what you’ve done.” Biden conceded the point. “Sure. Yes. Well—[laughter]—can you think of an alternative?” [1]

Asked what he would say to Democrats who thought he had given away too much, he answered: “They’ll find I didn’t” [1].

”It’s a Ridiculous Assertion”

Then came the question about hunger, and Biden’s four-word dismissal [1].

The fight was over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Work requirements already applied to most able-bodied adults ages 18 to 49, and the deal would phase in higher age limits, reaching 54 by 2025. That change was set to expire in 2030. The deal also expanded food stamp access for veterans, homeless people and young adults leaving foster care, and White House officials estimated that the number of people eligible would stay roughly the same, The National Desk reported [2].

Progressives were not satisfied. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said it was “really unfortunate that the president opened the door to this,” according to the report [2].

”He Kept His Word”

Biden had kind words for his Republican counterpart. “I think he negotiated with me in good faith. He kept his word. He said what he would do. He did what he said he’d do,” he said of McCarthy. Asked whether the speaker had the votes, Biden said, “I expect he does, or I don’t think he would have made the agreement” [1].

He also floated a constitutional workaround for the future, saying he was “exploring the idea that we would at a later date, a year or two from now, decide whether or not the 14th Amendment” could affect the debt limit. “But that’s another day,” he said [1].

Asked whether he wished he had started talks sooner, he said: “No, it wouldn’t have made any difference” [1].

By the Numbers

49 to 54: the rise in the top age for SNAP work requirements under the 2023 deal [2].
2030: the year the 2023 age increase was set to expire [2].
314-117: the House vote passing the deal on May 31, 2023 [3].
63-36: the Senate vote on June 1, 2023 [4].
65: the age above which the 2025 law exempts adults from the work requirement [5].
14: the child’s age under which a parent is exempt under the 2025 law [5].

What Happened Next

The deal passed. The House approved it 314 to 117 on May 31, 2023 [3], and the Senate followed 63 to 36 on June 1. CBS News reported that the bill “imposes stricter work requirements for food stamps” [4]. HYGO News covered the run-up in its page on the debt-limit talks.

Republicans went further in 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill that President Donald Trump signed on July 4, 2025, rewrote the exceptions to the work requirement for able-bodied adults. Under Section 10102, the requirement does not apply to people “under 18, or over 65, years of age,” to “a parent or other member of a household with responsibility for a dependent child under 14 years of age,” to pregnant women or to certain Native Americans [5]. The rewritten list does not include the exemptions for veterans, homeless people and young adults leaving foster care that the 2023 deal had added [2][5].

For the budget fight that led up to the deal, see HYGO News’ page on Biden’s late budget.