The Trump administration notified states on Friday, Nov. 7, that it would resume full funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) following a federal judge’s order, according to NBC News.
Previously, the administration had argued that the ongoing government shutdown left it without sufficient funds and initially resisted an order from U.S. District Judge John McConnell, who ruled on Thursday, Nov. 6, that the government must deliver full payments to the states by Friday.
The Department of Agriculture has now begun restoring full funding to SNAP while the administration’s appeal moves through the courts, NBC reported.
SNAP, operated by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, distributes funds to states, which then handle the delivery of food benefits—commonly known as food stamps—to residents.
Because of the prolonged shutdown, the USDA failed to distribute November’s funds on schedule, prompting intervention from two federal judges, McConnell and U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani. Both ruled on Oct. 31 that the administration had until Monday, Nov. 3, to make at least partial payments. The administration responded by pledging $4.65 billion in contingency funds to cover roughly half of the $9 billion in benefits required for November.
Judge McConnell later criticized the delay, saying the government had not acted “expeditiously” or “efficiently,” as ordered.
“People have gone without for too long. Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable,” McConnell said, according to NBC. “This should never happen in America.”
On Friday, the administration filed an emergency motion seeking to pause McConnell’s order, citing the shutdown as a barrier to full payment.
“This is a crisis, to be sure, but it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action,” the administration wrote in court filings. “This Court should allow USDA to continue with the partial payment and not compel the agency to transfer billions of dollars from another safety net program with no certainty of their replenishment.”
By Friday afternoon, the administration announced it would begin fully funding the program.
Late last month, several states had warned SNAP recipients that their November benefits could be delayed if the shutdown persisted. With the government now entering its fifth consecutive week of gridlock, SNAP benefits temporarily lapsed for the first time in the program’s 61-year history.
SNAP provides assistance to about 42 million low-income Americans, helping them supplement their grocery budgets through electronic benefit cards that function like debit cards for food purchases.
President Trump also discussed grocery prices during a Nov. 5 speech at the American Business Forum.
“Grocery prices are way down, and Walmart just announced that the cost of their standard Thanksgiving meal — this is the greatest, their greatest. It is 25% lower than one year ago. That’s a big deal,” he said.
When an NBC reporter later noted that the current Walmart meal includes six fewer items than last year’s, Trump replied, “Well, I haven’t heard that,” before dismissing the question by asking which outlet she represented and calling it “fake news.”
