Trump Administration Seeks Halt to Court order Mandating Full SNAPBenefits
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has requested an emergency pause to a federal judgeS order requiring the full funding of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, arguing that doing so would deplete resources intended for other critical child nutrition programs. The move comes as millions of SNAP recipients face reduced benefits due to the ongoing government shutdown, marking the first time in the program’s 61-year history that benefits have lapsed due to a federal closure.
According to a court filing submitted Friday morning, the administration maintains it can only authorize partial benefits in November, utilizing $4.65 billion in contingency funds to cover approximately 65% of ordinarily expected payments. The administration has resisted drawing from Section 32 funding – resources earmarked for child nutrition - to fully fund SNAP, asserting it would jeopardize programs like school lunches.
“This is a crisis, to be sure, but it is indeed a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action,” the administration wrote in its filing. They further argued the court should allow the partial payments to continue, rather then “compel the agency to transfer billions of dollars from another safety net program with no certainty of their replenishment.”
The legal battle stems from an initial Department of Agriculture announcement that SNAP funding would be suspended during the shutdown. This prompted a lawsuit from the progressive legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, leading a judge last week to order the Trump administration to distribute benefits “quickly.”
While Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated Monday that partial payments had been disbursed to states for processing onto Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards,Judge James McConnell asserted Thursday that the administration’s actions did not meet the standard of “expeditiously and efficiently” outlined in his order.
“people have gone without for to long. Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable,” McConnell said. “This should never happen in America.”
Reports have emerged of families already skipping meals and relying on limited pantry staples like cereal and ramen as a result of the reduced benefits. The administration’s request for a pause seeks to maintain the current partial payment system while the shutdown continues, placing the onus for a resolution on Congress.
