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BOSTON, Massachusetts: Two federal judges ruled on October 31 that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot halt food assistance for millions of Americans during the ongoing government shutdown. They ordered the government to rely on existing contingency funds to keep benefits flowing.
The rulings, issued in federal courts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, came in response to separate lawsuits challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan that stopped Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on November 1. SNAP, also known as food stamps, helps low-income households afford groceries. For weeks, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have blamed each other for the shutdown, which has put SNAP payments at risk.
It remains uncertain whether the decisions guarantee that benefits will be issued. Both judges asked the administration to update them on November 3 on how it will follow the orders.
Trump posted on social media that the federal government may lack legal authority to distribute SNAP funds during a shutdown. He said administration lawyers are asking courts for guidance on how to restore payments quickly. “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding,” he wrote.
SNAP benefits go to households earning less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level. In many states, that currently means about US$1,632 per month for a single person or $2,215 for two people. While the federal government funds the program, states handle daily operations and distribute monthly payments.
According to the USDA, it costs between $8.5 and $9 billion per month to fully fund SNAP for the roughly 42 million Americans who rely on it. The administration has argued that the agency has no authority to spend that money during the shutdown, which began on October 1, until Congress approves new funding.
However, U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence said the administration’s refusal to use $5.25 billion in available contingency funds was arbitrary and would cause real harm to families worried about access to food. He ordered that those funds be distributed as soon as possible and said the agency should also consider tapping a separate account that holds about $23 billion if needed.
Minutes earlier, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston reached a similar conclusion. Her ruling came in a case brought by 25 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C. She said the suspension of benefits was based on a mistaken belief that the contingency funds could not legally be used during a shutdown.
The USDA had previously stated that contingency money could keep benefits going if Congress failed to pass a budget. But last week, the agency changed its position and warned that “the well has run dry,” triggering the legal challenges.
Despite administration claims that the payment systems might struggle or that partial benefits would be too difficult to distribute, both judges stressed that the government has the authority and responsibility to fully fund SNAP during the shutdown.
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