BOSTON, M.A. / PROVIDENCE, R.I.—In a massive legal victory for the nation’s poor, two federal judges ruled simultaneously yesterday that the Trump administration must continue to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s largest food aid program, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
The rulings, handed down by federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, reject the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) claim that it lacked the legal authority to tap into emergency reserve funds to keep the benefits flowing. The decision comes a day before the scheduled Nov. 1 funding freeze, which threatened to cut off food aid for more than 42 million Americans.
The Legal Mandate to Use Reserve Funds
The legal fight was initiated by a coalition of over 25 Democratic state attorneys general and governors, who argued that the administration was legally obligated to maintain the vital program.
- The Administration’s Argument: The USDA, led by Secretary Brooke Rollins, asserted that a contingency fund of approximately $5 billion was not legally available to cover regular SNAP benefits during a lapse in Congressional appropriations. They claimed the “well had run dry.”
- The Judges’ Finding: Both U.S. District Judges Indira Talwani (Massachusetts) and John J. McConnell (Rhode Island) rejected this statutory interpretation. Judge Talwani wrote that the USDA’s suspension of payments was “based on the erroneous conclusion that the Contingency Funds could not be used,” clarifying that the administration is “required to use those Contingency Funds as necessary for the SNAP program.”
In Providence, Judge McConnell granted a temporary restraining order, ordering the USDA to distribute contingency funds “timely, or as soon as possible” to allow for the November payments. The Massachusetts ruling gave the administration until Monday to confirm whether it will use the contingency funds to at least partially fund the November benefits.
Relief Mixed with Uncertainty
While the rulings provided an immediate sigh of relief for anti-hunger advocates and millions of families, the logistics of distributing the funds remain a pressing concern.
- Delayed Payments: Due to the last-minute nature of the court orders, many beneficiaries who typically receive their SNAP benefits early in the month will face delayed payments. States and their processing contractors require several days to load the funds onto the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
- Partial Funding: The $5 billion contingency fund is reportedly not enough to cover the SNAP program’s full $8 billion monthly cost, meaning even with the court order, there remains uncertainty about whether recipients will receive partial or full benefits for November.
In a social media post following the rulings, President Donald Trump blamed Congressional Democrats for the shutdown and suggested his administration would comply, stating, “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”
This judicial intervention forces the administration to find a path to funding the critical anti-hunger program, but the resolution does not end the underlying political gridlock that led to the prolonged and damaging shutdown. The battle over feeding the nation’s most vulnerable has now moved from a legislative impasse to a courtroom mandate.