Trump’s Re-Election Campaign Touts Food Stamp Usage Dropping by Nearly 600,000

President Trump’s re-election campaign released a statement Monday celebrating the decline of nearly 600,000 people using food stamps in one month.

The campaign credited the data to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the government agency responsible for administering food stamp benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“Today the USDA announced a one-month reduction in food stamp enrollment of nearly 600,000 people, further adding to the overall reduction in food stamp enrollment of 2 million people in President Trump’s first year in office,” the campaign said in a statement Monday morning.

“While food stamp enrollment dramatically increased throughout the Obama administration, the news from the USDA today demonstrates that President Trump’s economic policies are bringing hard-working Americans back into the workforce and able-bodied adults off government assistance,” the campaign added.

Breitbart News reported Sunday that the most recent USDA data showed a decline in SNAP participation of 587,792 people between December 2017 and January 2018.

The Trump administration and GOP lawmakers in Congress are ramping up their efforts to drive SNAP enrollment down even further.

The Trump administration released an executive order on welfare reform this week that would require agencies such as the Department of Agriculture to issue updated rules for those receiving benefits.

The USDA also hired a “chief integrity officer” in March to prevent SNAP fraud.

GOP lawmakers are working on a bill introduced last Thursday that would tighten existing SNAP eligibility requirements by mandating that SNAP recipients work, look for work, or receive job training for 20 hours a week to receive food stamps.

A spokesperson for the House Agriculture Committee told Breitbart News Wednesday that it is “actively working with leadership” on the bill, which the House Agriculture Committee is marking up on Wednesday.