Federal Judge orders Partial SNAP Benefits Amid Government Shutdown
A federal judge on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to utilize available contingency funds to issue partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) benefits, averting a complete halt to food assistance for roughly 42 million Americans during the ongoing government shutdown. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by 25 states, the district of Columbia, and several municipalities seeking to compel the USDA to release the funds.
The judge stipulated that the government must “find the additional funds necessary (beyond the contingency funds) to fully fund the November SNAP payments,” acknowledging the $5 billion contingency fund falls short of the $9 billion required for full benefits. While the administration argued calculating partial payments would be “exceedingly difficult, highly disruptive, and delayed,” the judge stated partial payments were permissible, but under “no circumstances” could they be delayed beyond Wednesday.
the USDA initially warned late last month that SNAP payments, scheduled for November 1, would be suspended, attributing the pause to congressional democrats’ refusal to support a Republican-backed stopgap measure. However, the agency’s initial September 30 plan indicated multi-year contingency funds could be used for participant benefits during a shutdown.The USDA later reversed course, claiming in a late-October memo that the reserve funds were “not legally available to cover regular benefits” and were reserved for disaster relief.
Approximately one in eight Americans rely on SNAP benefits. The government shutdown entered its 34th day on Monday and is on track to become the longest in U.S. history if a spending agreement isn’t reached by late Tuesday.
