Two federal judges today told the Agriculture Department to issue at least partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November.
In Providence, R.I., U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ruled from the bench in a case filed by cities and nonprofits that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds, and he asked for an update on progress by Monday, the Associated Press reported.
In Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in a written opinion that the USDA has to pay for SNAP, calling the suspension “unlawful,” the AP added.
Talwani ordered the federal government to advise the court by Monday as to whether they will use the contingency funds to provide reduced SNAP benefits for November or fully fund the program “using both contingency funds and additional available funds.”
In a statement on Truth Social tonight, President Trump said he has instructed administration lawyers to ask the courts how USDA can “legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” but that “even if we get immediate guidance it will unfortunately be delayed while states get the money out.”
Trump’s statement came after two judges issued slightly different rulings today requiring the Agriculture Department to develop plans to issue benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November.
There are about 42 million people who depend on SNAP for basic food purchasing power, about one in every eight Americans. Food banks around the country have expressed fears that people will go hungry because the food banks cannot make up for the loss if benefits are not issued.
SNAP benefits cost the government about $9.2 billion. There is about $5 billion in a contingency fund, and Democrats have argued that the Trump administration could use another account known as Section 32 to fund more benefits.
-The Hagstrom Report