Two federal judges said the Trump administration must use emergency funds to provide at least partial food stamp benefits to tens of millions of Americans in November as the federal government shutdown continues.
And President Donald Trump said Friday evening that he had instructed administration lawyers to ask the courts as soon as possible how to legally fund the benefits.
Trump: Even if we get guidance right away, unfortunately there will be a delay while the country gets the money out. Posted To the truth society. “Once the appropriate legal direction is given by the court, it would be my honor to provide funds as I have provided to our military and law enforcement agencies.”
Still, for many food stamp recipients, much-needed assistance may not be available so quickly. It’s also unclear whether they will receive the full benefit or a smaller amount because the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s emergency fund does not have enough money to cover the total cost.
Several legal and procedural challenges must be overcome before benefits can reach the estimated 42 million people who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the official name for food stamps. The U.S. Department of Agriculture halted the allocation in November, claiming it did not have the funds to provide it, prompting a lawsuit filed earlier this week by a coalition of Democratic-led states, cities, nonprofits, labor unions and small businesses.
It is currently unclear whether the administration will appeal the ruling. But the Justice Department said at a hearing Thursday that it would do so if U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston rules unfavorably.
Talwani on Friday stopped short of requiring the administration to tap into emergency funds, but said USDA should use rainy day funds to partially cover November benefits and gave it until Monday to decide whether to use just those funds or put them in a separate pot.
A judge in Rhode Island said Friday he has ordered the government to use emergency funds to ensure at least some benefits are distributed while a separate case over SNAP payments proceeds.
In a written ruling issued Saturday, Justice John McConnell wrote that the administration must use emergency funds to make partial payments to SNAP recipients by Wednesday.
But he wrote that USDA, at its discretion, must find additional funds to provide full benefits to beneficiaries. If you decide to do this, the institution must pay the full amount by the end of Monday, as it is simpler to pay in full than to calculate partial payments.
The administration may appeal this decision.
In his ruling, Prime Minister McConnell responded directly to President Trump’s comments, saying, “The Court greatly appreciates the President’s prompt and firm response to this court order and his desire to provide necessary SNAP funding.”
No matter what happens in court, it will be a while before SNAP recipients receive their assistance in November.
States halted the process of issuing November benefits after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent a letter to states on Oct. 10 ordering them to do so. States send SNAP enrollees’ information to providers each month so they can load funds onto recipients’ benefit cards, often days or weeks before the start of a new month. You must perform these steps before you can restart SNAP.
The delay will be felt immediately. About 3 million recipients will receive benefits on Nov. 1, according to estimates by Code for America, which works with all levels of government to improve access to food assistance and other safety net programs. That number will increase to nearly 13.7 million by Nov. 5, with remaining SNAP enrollees receiving staggered allocations over the course of a month.
“They don’t go out on time,” Gina Plata-Nino, interim SNAP director at the advocacy group Food Research & Action Center, said of the November benefits.
Nonetheless, providing full payment would be the quickest way for food stamp recipients to receive assistance.
“If the administration complies with the court’s ruling to disburse SNAP emergency funds immediately and replenish those funds using statutory transfer authority, which the court also confirmed, SNAP benefits could begin to be paid with only a short delay,” said Dottie Rosenbaum, director of federal SNAP policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
However, if USDA only taps emergency funds and does not augment them with tariff revenues dedicated to child nutrition programs, as it does with the WIC Nutrition Assistance Program, the process could become much more complex and time-consuming.
According to court papers filed by the Justice Department representing USDA in the case, the emergency fund balance is only $5.3 billion, with monthly benefits totaling about $8.2 billion. (If you add in other costs and benefits, the total comes closer to $9 billion.)
USDA has access to about $17 billion in tariff revenue, but Justice Department lawyers told a judge Friday that using the money for SNAP would harm the child nutrition programs it supports. Talwani and Rhode Island Judge John McConnell left it up to the USDA in November whether to use additional resources to pay the full benefits.
Why SNAP is a trend today
If only emergency funds were tapped, USDA would have to reduce benefits for all SNAP recipients, which it has never done before, according to a declaration filed by agency officials overseeing the program. Additionally, state agencies would have to recode their systems to issue smaller benefit amounts, which could lead to payment errors.
“There are a number of variables that could create significant problems in attempting to reduce benefits to every SNAP household in the United States, as no template, process, or past experience exists to inform benefit reductions,” Patrick Penn, USDA Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, said in the proclamation. “The capacity, time and resources to achieve this system change will vary greatly across state agencies, and some state agencies are using systems that are decades old.”
In at least some states, this process could take weeks or months, Penn said, speaking informally with state agencies.
Before states can take action, USDA must also determine how to calculate and approve reduced quotas. Plata-Nino said that amid the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal government, those efforts could be hampered if employees are laid off, laid off or leave during the shutdown.
Some states have identified potential ways to quickly provide smaller benefits, but that could take time because those methods need to be programmed, tested and validated, she noted.
She said if beneficiaries receive partial benefits in November, they will receive retroactive payments to ensure they receive full benefits after the government reopens.
