A federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to continue paying SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown.
Today is day 31 of the Schumer Shutdown and the funds for food stamp benefits were set to begin drying up on November 1.
More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits and the $5 billion emergency fund was not enough to cover the program for November.
Unions and nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture earlier this week ahead of the November 1 cutoff.
US District Judge John McConnell, an Obama appointee, ordered Trump on Friday to use the emergency funds for the SNAP program.
CNBC reported:
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ceasing to pay SNAP benefits that help feed 42 million Americans during the U.S. government shutdown.
The oral ruling by Judge Jack McConnell came a day before the administration was set to cut off that food stamp assistance.
A Justice Department lawyer argued during a hearing that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program did not exist anymore because there were no congressionally appropriated funds for it as a result of the shutdown.
The lawyer, Tyler Becker, also argued it was the administration’s discretion whether to use $6 billion in contingency funds already set aside by Congress to continue issuing SNAP benefits.
McConnell, in his ruling granting a temporary restraining order to plaintiffs who sued to maintain the benefits, told the administration to use those funds to maintain at least some of the SNAP benefits normally paid.
A separate federal judge in Massachusetts ruled the USDA has the power to fund SNAP benefits.
Judge Indira Talwani also an Obama appointee, stopped just short of issuing a Temporary Restraining Order and said she will hold a hearing on Monday.
“No later than Monday, November 3, 2025, Defendants shall advise the court whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November and, if so, their timeline for determining whether to authorize only reduced SNAP benefits using the Contingency Funds or to authorize full SNAP benefits using both the Contingency Funds and additional available funds,” the judge wrote.
