USDA orders states to stop issuing full SNAP benefits and to ‘undo’ benefits sent for November

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina predicted that bipartisan negotiations on funding the government could have a “breakthrough” today because he thinks the strain of the record-breaking shutdown is “backfiring” on Democrats.

“I think this madness ends today,” Graham said on “Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” explaining that federal workers missing paychecks, Americans losing food stamp benefits and flight cancellations across the country shows the Democrats’ “political terrorism” is “backfiring.”

Graham rejected Democrats’ demand to rollback Medicaid cuts from President Donald Trump’s domestic policy law, as well as the extension of enhanced tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, which he called “the biggest scam on the planet.”

He also praised the president’s suggestion on Saturday that the billions of dollars used to offset ACA premium costs instead get sent directly to Americans to spend on purchasing their own health insurance.

“I think the government’s going to open today because cooler heads are prevailing on the Democratic side,” he predicted, adding that he expects a bipartisan group of negotiators to have a “breakthrough” when the Senate returns this afternoon and “then we’ll talk about how to change Obamacare to give the money to the people rather than insurance companies.”

“The government will reopen today. We’re not going to talk about health care until it does,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune threw cold water this weekend on a proposal by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that would offer enough Democratic votes to end the shutdown in exchange for a one-year extension of enhanced ACA