¶ Overview
In 2025, Garrett Mason supported Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” praised it as “the exact kind of package that working people need,” and backed increased work requirements for public assistance programs despite the law making the largest cut to SNAP in history.
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” slashed $186 billion in funding and reduced food assistance for millions. More than 22 million families were projected to lose some or all benefits, with some losing an average of $146 per month. States facing new cost-sharing requirements could be forced to cut benefits or leave the program entirely.
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” expanded work requirements that were projected to reduce SNAP participation by 2.4 million people each month. No Kid Hungry warned that new work requirements for SNAP recipients would increase hunger and threaten access to food for families in need, as more than 78,000 households in Maine relied on SNAP to meet basic food needs.
¶ Garrett Mason Praised Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” And Supported Stripping Food Assistance From Mainers, Even Though More Than 78,000 Households In Maine Relied On SNAP
¶ Garrett Mason Praised Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” And Claimed It Was “The Exact Kind Of Package That Working People Need”
October 2025: Garrett Mason Praised Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” As “The Exact Kind Of Package” Working People Needed And Criticized Governor Janet Mills For Refusing To Conform Maine Tax Law To Its Tax Credits. According to Garrett Mason on The Garrett Mason Show, “MASON: You know, we've also learned recently that Governor Mills has chosen not to do tax conformity under the Trump administration's Big, Beautiful Bill that includes things like no, no tax on tips, that includes things like tax credits for private education purposes. [...] MASON: But and it's it's the claim that she's making is that this is going to cost the state $400 million and that we don't have the money to do it. Well, geez, I wonder why we don't have the money to do it. I wonder why we've we've almost doubled the state budget over the course of her tenure. And now we have tax credits that could be used by that, by very average normal people who could be working people working who could use these tax credits. And she she can't do it because she doesn't have the money. I mean, what a dereliction. And quite frankly, what a great idea by the Trump administration by moving this into federal tax conformity so that governors have the ability, you know, governors have the ability to either approve or deny these tax credits. Jeff, can you talk a little bit about L.D. 221 and the governor? She's not really telling the whole truth. GUEST: Well, you know, I think the interesting part is we passed L.D. 221 this year, and on June 17th, it became law. Okay. So this is a law that she asked for, the Democrats asked for, and it was put forward and now is become the law of the land that when the federal government makes its recommendations for taxes that the state of Maine can conform to the federal tax laws right up front. [...] MASON: It's well, and it's great. Hey, to make for a lot of you know people that are running for office is because it's this is this is the exact kind of package that working people need." [Garrett Mason, The Garrett Mason Show, 10/22/25] (VIDEO)
- 2025: Maine Policy Institute Claimed Governor Janet Mills Could Temporarily Conform Maine Tax Law To Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” According to the Maine Policy Institute, “Under L.D. 221 (Public Law 2025, Chapter 336), a law that went into effect on September 23, the Legislature gave Governor Mills authority to temporarily conform Maine tax administration to recent federal changes before the Legislature formally updates the tax code. This law allows her to: Direct Maine Revenue Services (MRS) to administer the 2025 tax year using federal rule changes Change Maine tax policy temporarily when the legislature hasn’t had the opportunity to act yet.” [Maine Policy Institute, 10/6/25]
- 2025: Maine Policy Institute Claimed A New State Law Gave Governor Janet Mills Temporary Authority To Conform Maine Tax Law To Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” According to the Maine Policy Institute, “Until recently, that was a straightforward issue of legislative timing. Maine uses static conformity to federal tax law, meaning the state must pass a law each year to adopt any federal changes. Because OBBBA passed in 2025, after Maine’s current conformity date, these tax breaks are not yet recognized in state law. So far, that’s normal. But a law passed earlier this year changed everything. what changed: new law gives Mills temporary power to conform.” [Maine Policy Institute, 10/6/25]
¶ The “One Big Beautiful Bill” Contained The Largest SNAP Cut In History
HEADLINE: "Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Cuts Food Stamps For Millions — The Average Family May Lose $146 Per Month, Report Finds" [CNBC, 7/10/25]
The GOP Reconciliation Bill Would Cut SNAP Funding By $186 Billion, Which CBPP Said Constituted The “Largest Cut To SNAP In History.” According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “The Senate Republican leadership’s reconciliation bill would dramatically raise costs and reduce food assistance for millions of people by cutting federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $186 billion through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), about 20 percent — the largest cut to SNAP in history. These cuts would increase poverty, food insecurity, and hunger, including among children. The so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is anything but beautiful; it would cause widespread harm by making massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, which would raise costs on families and make it much harder for them to afford the high cost of health care and groceries.” [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 6/30/25]
22.3 Million Families Would Lose Some Or All Of Their SNAP Benefits, With 5.3 Million Families Losing More Than $25 In Benefits Per Month, And Of Those Families, The Average Loss In Benefits Would Be $146. According to the Urban Institute, “Our preliminary estimates of the SNAP policies in the Senate bill show the following: 22.3 million US families would be affected, losing some or all of their SNAP benefits. Of the total affected families, 5.3 million would lose at least $25 in SNAP benefits per month. Among these families, 3.3 million are families with children, 3.5 million are working families, and 1.7 million are families with a full-time full-year worker. Families losing at least $25 per month would lose $146 per month on average ($1,752 for a full-year recipient). At the state level, average monthly benefit losses for families losing at least $25 per month would range from $72 in Kansas ($864 annually) to $231 in the District of Columbia ($2,772 annually).” [Urban Institute, 7/2/25]
States That Could Not Afford To Pay The New Mandated SNAP Cost Shares May Cut The Program Entirely. According to CNBC, “Additionally, the legislation requires states to pay for a portion of benefit costs, ranging from 5% to 15%, if their payment error rate is at or over 6%. The error rates measure the accuracy of states’ eligibility and benefit payments. In fiscal year 2024, states had a 10.9% average payment error rate, with many states over 6%, according to the Department of Agriculture. States that can’t pay those shares may have to cut SNAP benefits or opt out of the program entirely, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.” [CNBC, 7/10/25]
¶ Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Work Requirements Expansion Could Strip Food Assistance From More Than 2.4 Million People Each Month
Center For American Progress: Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Work Requirements Expansion Was Expected To Reduce SNAP Participation By 2.4 Million People Each Month. According to the Center For American Progress, “By expanding work requirements, the law is expected to reduce participation by an estimated 2.4 million people each month, cutting off access to food assistance for millions of families. New administrative and benefit state cost shifts could produce even worse outcomes if states are forced to leave SNAP entirely.” [Center For American Progress, 3/19/26]
¶ Garrett Mason Called For Work Requirements In Public Assistance Programs Like SNAP
¶ Garrett Mason Pushed Work Requirements And Eligibility Limits That Could Restrict Access To SNAP
2025: Garrett Mason Raised Concerns About “Abuse” Of Government Assistance Programs And Called For Work Requirements And Limits On Eligibility. According to Garrett Mason on The Garrett Mason Show, "Now, we have had a lot of discussions in Maine over the past 20 years about the excessive abuse of the welfare system here in Maine, and we can continue to have that discussion and and I'm sure we will. We need to also have it at the federal level. We need to have work requirements for some of these programs. We need to make sure that the ones that are getting it are the most vulnerable. It needs to be children and the elderly who who are beneficiaries of these programs most uh highly of all. But what's happening right now is there's going to be a lot of people who aren't going to have the benefits that they rely on." [Garrett Mason, The Garrett Mason Show, 11/5/25] (VIDEO)
¶ No Kid Hungry Warned New Work Requirements On SNAP Recipients Would Threaten Access To Food As More Than 78,000 Households In Maine Relied On SNAP
No Kid Hungry: New Work Requirements On SNAP Recipients Would Threaten The Access To Food For Families In Need As They Faced Increasing Food Costs And Higher Inflation And Would Likely Increase Hunger. According to No Kid Hungry, “SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is one of the nation’s most effective tools in the fight against hunger, supporting more than 40 million Americans, including 1 in 5 children, in affording nutritious food. This is particularly vital as families face rising food prices and higher inflation-related costs in housing and transportation. However, recent proposals to impose new work requirements on SNAP participants threaten to make it even harder for families to access this crucial support. […] A good job is one of the best pathways out of poverty. Unfortunately, work restriction policies do nothing to make it easier for people to secure employment. Instead, they serve to limit access to SNAP and increase hunger. In fact, research shows that work requirements do little to help people get jobs and don’t increase the number of people working.” [No Kid Hungry, 3/14/25]
2024: Across Maine, 78,348 Households Relied On SNAP.
[U.S. Department of Agriculture, SNAP Community Characteristics, Accessed 4/21/26]