Ongoing Legal Fight Leaves Millions of Americans in Limbo Over Food Assistance
The federal government is now trying to claw back money distributed by states Friday to their needy residents before SCOTUS halted that process.
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Updated Nov. 9
The Trump administration that issued full food assistance benefits to their needy residents to “undo” those actions. Officials in more than full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on Friday before the U.S. Supreme Court halted that action late in the day.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nov. 8 notice that it wants those SNAP funds taken back is the latest development in a chaotic legal fight playing out during the prolonged government shutdown. Advocates say the delays and ongoing uncertainty are causing severe hardship for the roughly 42 million Americans, including 16 million children, the elderly, veterans and those with disabilities, who rely on SNAP for food.
The states are now warning of 鈥渃atastrophic operational disruptions,” according to , if the federal government does not reimburse them for the money sent to recipients before the high court’s temporary stay was issued and while the USDA was telling states that it “will complete the processes necessary” on Friday to make full SNAP funding available to them.
President Donald Trump initially threatened to withhold SNAP benefits entirely for the month of November and then agreed to release partial benefits 鈥� first putting that number at 50% and then raising it to 65% 鈥� only after being successfully sued by two groups of plaintiffs, including more than 20 states, the District of Columbia and three governors and a coalition of cities, religious groups and nonprofits. The coalition plaintiffs then returned to court to argue that the federal government should be required to fully fund SNAP and a federal judge in Rhode Island agreed, ordering the administration to do so Thursday.
The administration appealed the order to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and when it did not get quick action, petitioned the Supreme Court for a temporary stay. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson . The move gives the circuit court in Boston more time to decide whether the lower court was correct in ordering the Trump administration to not only tap into contingency money set aside to keep SNAP going during government emergencies, but other funding sources needed to deliver benefits at 100%.
More than 42 million Americans who rely on federal food assistance 鈥� 16 million of them children 鈥� will apparently get their full benefits this month, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture memo sent to states Friday.
The , obtained by several news outlets, was the latest pendulum swing in an ongoing legal battle over whether the Trump administration will be forced to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown.
Lawyers for the administration went before an appeals court Friday to try and overturn an order issued a day earlier by U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell saying it must provide full SNAP benefits by Friday.
While Patrick Penn, the deputy undersecretary of Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, was informing states that the USDA 鈥渨ill complete the processes necessary to make funds available,鈥� according to the memo, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were voicing their opposition to complying with the federal court.
Vanced because 鈥測ou have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the midst of a Democrat government shutdown.鈥� Trump cited the country鈥檚 need to remain 鈥渧ery liquid鈥� in the event of 鈥渃atastrophes, wars鈥� as a reason why the funding would not be forthcoming.
Gina Plata-Nino, the SNAP program director at , condemned the back-and-forth and the larger dispute that has left vulnerable children and families hanging in the balance.
鈥淚t is unconscionable that the administration is using 42 million Americans as chess pieces that are going hungry,鈥� she said. 鈥淩etailers rely on these benefits, and communities and states are being forced to step up, all because the president is holding back food assistance to use as leverage in ending the government shutdown.鈥�
While the administration was pushing the federal appeals court for a decision by 4 p.m. Friday, several hours later none had been issued. It was unclear what the president might do if the appeals court ruled in its favor.
Advocates say the continuing legal dispute is wreaking havoc.
鈥淭his is absolutely devastating,鈥� said Erika Roberson, senior policy associate at The Institute for College Access & Success, a research and advocacy group that addresses issues like food insecurity in secondary education. 鈥淔ood should not be politicized: Everyone has a human right to food.鈥�
McConnell also said on Thursday that with his previous order to fund SNAP.
The government agreed last week to a partial payout using U.S. Department of Agriculture contingency monies, but the judge said it must tap $4 billion in additional resources to ensure families receive their full November allotment.
鈥淧eople have gone without for too long,鈥� McConnell said .
Ian Coon, spokesman for the Alliance for Education, an independent, local education fund that supports Seattle Public Schools, called the judge鈥檚 initial and subsequent orders to fund SNAP a critical win for families.
鈥淥ur kids can鈥檛 continue to lose when adults don鈥檛 get along,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he uncertainty and distrust this has already sown will last a while and we are worried about what it will take to get this life-altering benefit back up and running in full.鈥�
His group created an emergency food aid plan that would distribute up to $100 in gift cards to assist families in need.
鈥淎s an organization committed to advancing educational outcomes,鈥� he added, 鈥渨e know that students cannot focus on learning when they are hungry or when families are forced to make impossible choices between groceries, rent, and other essentials.鈥�
The USDA announced earlier this week that SNAP recipients would receive , up from an estimate of 50% last week. The greater percentage came after Trump to say he would defy the court order and halt SNAP altogether until the government reopened. The White House press secretary later walked back those comments.
Friday鈥檚 memo was the first indication that the government was willing to fully fund SNAP during what is now the longest government shutdown in history. SNAP benefits have historically not been cut off during prior shutdowns.
Trump鈥檚 landmark , signed into law this summer, eliminated $186 billion from SNAP. Eligibility requirements also grew more stringent, which affects the number of students who automatically qualify for free and reduced-price meals at school and the number of schools that can offer universal free meals to all their students.
currently provide universal school meals. Voters in Colorado this week approved two ballot measures to preserve the state鈥檚 free school meals program, including one that will .
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