The Big Ugly Bill in Kentucky resulted in 25,000 Kentucky children losing food assistance.

Posted by Real Time with Bill Maher, Oct 24, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictTrue

Sources: 4 support2 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 60%

Real Time with Bill MaherOct 24, 2026

The governor's October 14, 2026 letter, which reporting repeats, says the One Big Beautiful Bill resulted in 24,655 Kentucky children losing SNAP access, which fits the claim's roughly 25,000 figure. The support traces back to Gov. Beshear's own office, and the AP caution about data quality concerns Kentucky's benefit removals generally rather than this bill-attributed figure, so confidence is capped.

A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.

What was said

… I mean, these are political positions. If you have a different idea of how we should do health care or immigration or anything, isn't it a little but that's actually doing health care or providing food in a different way? I mean, the idea that the Big Ugly Bill kicked 25,000 Kentucky kids off their food assistance means 25,000 Kentucky kids are hungrier today than before. Now, the miracle of the fishes and the loaves is so important. It's in the first four books of the New Testament. It's about providing enough, especially in a time of scarcity. And so, I don't think that the position is unChristian because it's Republican. …

Real Time with Bill Maher · Oct 24, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. Gov. Beshear's October 14, 2026 letter to USDA Secretary Rollins states that the Big Ugly Bill has resulted in 80,622 Kentuckians losing SNAP, including 24,655 kids.[3][4]

Supports. Coverage of the letter reports that Beshear said 24,655 Kentucky children and 6,572 seniors lost access to SNAP, attributing the losses to federal changes stemming from the 2025 budget law.[5][6]

Context. The AP reports that Kentucky's benefit removals rely on data that does not tell the full story, a caution about the data rather than a dispute of the 24,655 child figure or its link to the bill.[1]

Context. Snopes confirms the bill lowered the dependent age for SNAP work rules, the mechanism through which the state's SNAP losses are attributed to the bill.[2]