{"id":1504,"date":"2025-11-01T05:45:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T05:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/?p=1504"},"modified":"2025-11-01T05:49:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T05:49:27","slug":"judges-order-trump-administration-to-fund-snap-during-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/01\/judges-order-trump-administration-to-fund-snap-during-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Judges Order Trump Administration to Fund SNAP During Shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 data-start=\"185\" data-end=\"567\"><em>In a major legal setback for the Trump administration, two federal judges have ruled that the government cannot suspend food aid for millions of low-income Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/01\/us-faces-shutdown-after-funding-bill-fails-what-it-means-for-americans\/\">during the ongoing government shutdown.<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"185\" data-end=\"567\">The rulings ensure that <strong data-start=\"420\" data-end=\"472\">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)<\/strong> benefits \u2014 commonly known as <em><strong>food stamps<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 must continue, using the available contingency funds. The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island issued dual rulings after separate lawsuits challenged the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) move to halt food assistance payments <strong>starting November 1.<\/strong> The lawsuits were filed by states, nonprofit organizations, and workers\u2019 unions arguing that millions of vulnerable Americans would face food insecurity if SNAP benefits were paused.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1010\" data-end=\"1268\">The judges agreed, ruling that the USDA\u2019s refusal to utilize contingency funds was<strong data-start=\"1045\" data-end=\"1124\"> &#8216;arbitrary and capricious&#8217;.<\/strong>\u00a0They ordered the administration to immediately <a href=\"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/11\/white-house-begins-federal-layoffs-as-shutdown-enters-third-week\/\">use available emergency funds to continue<\/a> payments and to provide a compliance plan by Monday.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1311\"><strong>SNAP Benefits and Shutdown Politics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1313\" data-end=\"1617\">SNAP, the nation\u2019s largest food assistance program, provides monthly benefits to over <strong data-start=\"1399\" data-end=\"1423\">42 million Americans<\/strong>, helping families with incomes below 130% of the federal poverty line.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1313\" data-end=\"1617\">That\u2019s around <strong data-start=\"1508\" data-end=\"1558\">$ 1632 per month for a single-person household<\/strong> or <strong data-start=\"1562\" data-end=\"1599\">$2,215 for a two-person household<\/strong> in most states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1619\" data-end=\"1915\">The ongoing government shutdown, which began on October 1, has frozen many federal operations after Congress failed to reach a spending agreement. <a href=\"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/11\/white-house-begins-federal-layoffs-as-shutdown-enters-third-week\/\">Democrats and Republicans continue to blame each other<\/a> for the impasse, while millions of family&#8217;s risks losing access to critical food aid.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1917\" data-end=\"1963\"><strong>Trump Responds, Citing Legal Constraints<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1965\" data-end=\"2223\">The current President, <strong data-start=\"1975\" data-end=\"1991\">Donald Trump<\/strong> commented on social media that his administration may lack the legal authority to continue SNAP payments during a shutdown. He added that his legal team is seeking clarification from the courts on how to legally fund the program.\u00a0\u201c<em>If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding<\/em>,\u201d Trump wrote on his social media platform.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"2378\" data-end=\"2424\">Judges Say USDA Must Tap Emergency Funds<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2426\" data-end=\"2702\">In one of the rulings, a U.S. District Judge emphasized that the USDA has access to <strong data-start=\"2541\" data-end=\"2579\">$5.25 billion in contingency funds<\/strong>, which could be used to cover November\u2019s benefits. He ordered the department to release the funds as soon as possible.\u00a0Judge McConnell further noted that if the <a href=\"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/01\/us-faces-shutdown-after-funding-bill-fails-what-it-means-for-americans\/\">contingency funds run short,<\/a> the USDA should explore using an additional $23 billion available in separate accounts.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2870\" data-end=\"3208\">The USDA had previously stated that the SNAP program costs between <strong data-start=\"2937\" data-end=\"2978\">$8.5 &#8211; $9 billion per month<\/strong>, and that the agency could not make payments without new congressional appropriations. However, its own contingency plan, released earlier in October, acknowledged that emergency funding could temporarily sustain SNAP benefits.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"3210\" data-end=\"3245\">Millions Depend on Continuity<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"3247\" data-end=\"3526\">Advocates have praised the rulings as a critical win for struggling households. \u201c<em>Food security should not be held hostage by political gridlock<\/em>,\u201d said one attorney representing the plaintiffs. This decision ensures millions of Americans can continue to put food on the table.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3528\" data-end=\"3832\">As the <a href=\"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/04\/us-government-shutdown-continues-what-happens-next\/\">shutdown drags on, the court\u2019s intervention offers temporary relief<\/a> \u2014 but long-term stability for the SNAP program will depend on Congress reaching a spending deal. Until then, the federal courts have made one thing clear: <strong data-start=\"3758\" data-end=\"3832\">the government must prioritize feeding its people, even in a shutdown.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a major legal setback for the Trump administration, two federal judges have ruled that the government cannot suspend food aid for millions of low-income&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39],"tags":[619,614,617,620,615,618,477,613,616],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Judges Order Trump Administration to Fund SNAP During Shutdown<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to use contingency funds to keep food aid flowing during the 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