Moore says hundreds of thousands of Marylanders are threatened by the denial of SNAP funding.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Friday said that President Donald Trump has refused to release federal SNAP funding and that hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of going hungry.
According to the governor, an Oct. 10 letter from the administration directed Maryland to refrain from issuing SNAP benefits. He said they’ve also declined to release contingency benefits.
“As a result, SNAP benefits are likely not to be deposited on EBT cards beginning Nov. 1, and 680,000 Marylanders who rely on SNAP to eat — including nearly 270,000 children — stand to go hungry,” Moore said.
During previous shutdowns, the state has received money for critical expenses.
“The Trump Administration has provided zero assurance that our state will receive reimbursement—even if Maryland were to cover SNAP benefits in the absence of federal funding. And as recent history has shown, President Trump’s targeted attacks on Democratic priorities, programs, and states only further diminishes our confidence in being made whole,” Moore said.
The Trump administration and Moore, a Democratic governor in a deeply blue state that tilted toward Kamala Harris by 28.6 percentage points during the 2024 election, have publicly sparred in recent months.
Moore has been touted as a potential presidential nominee, with the president responding by denigrating the suggestion.
Trump has also threatened to reconsider funding for the restoration of Baltimore’s Key Bridge and, this week, FEMA denied funding for Maryland’s flood-damaged Allegany and Garrett counties.
According to the governor, the state has “turned a $3 billion deficit into a $321 million structural surplus.”
But, he noted, “uncertainty” surrounding the Trump administration imperils Maryland’s fiscal future.
“The Maryland Treasury holds roughly $3.5 billion in short-term cash to help bridge reimbursable federal expenses and myriad other State expenses, but we do not have confidence that the Trump Administration will reimburse us—not only for SNAP, but for any federal programs that may suffer for the duration of this senseless shutdown,” Moore said.