Judge Orders Trump to Pay SNAP Benefits

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from cutting off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beginning this weekend because of the government shutdown, ordering officials to first spend an emergency fund.

The roughly $5.25 billion fund is not enough to fully cover November benefits for the food assistance program, which will cost the government upward of $9 billion.

But U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s order prevents the administration from completely drying up the benefit for more than 40 million Americans starting Saturday, rejecting arguments that the emergency fund can be used only for hurricanes or other uncontrollable catastrophes.

“SNAP benefits have never, until now, been terminated,” McConnell said at a hearing. “And the United States has in fact admitted that the contingency funds are appropriately used during a shutdown and that occurred in 2019.”

He ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to distribute the emergency funds “timely or as soon as possible” and provide an update to the court by Monday.

The looming SNAP lapse became the latest visible sign of the government shutdown, which has dragged into a fifth week.

Even as Republicans have been mostly unified, cracks had formed in the Senate GOP conference over whether SNAP should be allowed to lapse this weekend. The expiration would impact millions of people in Republican-represented states.

Though the judge’s ruling takes the pressure off for now, it does not require the USDA to maintain the benefit once the emergency fund is depleted.

The administration’s refusal to spend the fund came under two lawsuits, one filed by 25 Democratic-led states and the other brought by a coalition of cities and private organizations.

McConnell, an appointee of former President Obama who serves in Rhode Island, is overseeing the second lawsuit.

“The shutdown is absolutely an emergency for our clients. As of tomorrow, these benefits will not be available to millions of Americans,” Michael Torcello, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told McConnell.

The judge handed down his ruling from the bench moments after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee who serves in Boston and oversees the states’ case, issued a written order suggesting she’ll issue a similar block.

Talwani gave the government until Monday to explain how it will use the contingency funds.

The Trump administration warned of practical concerns with paying partial November benefits, suggesting it will cause a “run on the bank” as states and beneficiaries seek to obtain funds before the pot is depleted.

“Nor can USDA solve this problem by providing partial benefits,” the administration wrote in court filings.

“Such a partial payment has never been made — and for good reason,” it continued. “It would require each State to recalculate the benefits owed based on the reduced funds available. USDA estimates that such a calculation, involving complicated system changes and processes dictated by statute and regulation, would take weeks, if it can be done at all.”

The administration can fully fund the gap for November using a separate source, known as Section 32 funds, which come from customs receipts. But both judges agreed the administration has discretion on whether to do so.

“If there’s no appropriation, there really is no program,” Justice Department attorney Tyler Becker said at Friday’s hearing. “The government cannot just add funding when no program exists.”