New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said federal food assistance benefits would resume starting on Sunday, despite the Trump administration’s ongoing legal challenge to avoid funding SNAP payments this month.
The move comes as several other states, including New Jersey, began issuing payments after nearly a week-long pause and the first ever in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s history.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released money to states on Friday as required by a federal judge’s order, according to a memo the agency sent Gothamist. The Trump administration has asked an appeals court for an emergency pause to the ruling but states aren’t waiting to begin getting funds to their residents.
“Let me be clear, President Trump is hellbent on preventing millions of Americans from putting food on the table,” Hochul said in a statement. “He’s made decision after decision to withhold funding that feeds families, seniors and children — and continues doubling down on this cruelty by challenging the courts’ clear orders. It’s senseless and un-American and I’m working tirelessly to bring this uncertainty to an end for the nearly three million New Yorkers who rely on this program.”
The USDA blamed Senate Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown in a statement Thursday.
Hochul said the Trump administration put New Yorkers through “chaos and confusion” after it froze funding for SNAP Nov. 1, due to the government shutdown. About 3 million residents in the state rely on SNAP.
New Jersey officials also restarted SNAP payments by Friday morning.
Karen Yi
Source link