Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Friday ordered the Trump administration to keep funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) despite the ongoing government shutdown. They ruled that the White House must use emergency reserves to ensure millions of Americans continue receiving food aid.
The twin rulings dealt a major setback to the administration, which had planned to freeze benefits beginning November 1, citing a lack of funds. SNAP, the largest federal food assistance program, supports one in eight Americans at a monthly cost of roughly $8 billion.
Judge John J. McConnell in Rhode Island reportedly directed the government to use contingency funds to maintain payments and to continue honoring existing work requirement waivers. In a parallel decision, Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts called the suspension “unlawful,” ordering the administration to fund SNAP “using both contingency funds and additional available funds” and to report progress to the court by Monday.
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“Defendants’ suspension of SNAP payments was based on the erroneous conclusion that the Contingency Funds could not be used to ensure continuation of SNAP payments,” Talwani wrote, clarifying that the government is legally required to tap into those reserves.
Democratic attorneys general from 25 states and the District of Columbia brought the lawsuits, arguing that the administration had both the authority and obligation to continue funding the program. The rulings came as food banks and advocacy groups warned of dire consequences if payments were halted, leaving low-income families without groceries.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the decisions confirmed that “the administration is choosing not to feed Americans in need, despite knowing that it is legally required to do so.”
Trump reacted on social media, blaming congressional Democrats for the shutdown but saying his government would comply with the rulings once given “appropriate legal direction.”
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Across the country, relief groups described the court decisions as a temporary lifeline. “Thousands of nonprofit food banks, pantries and other organizations across the country can avoid the impossible burden that would have resulted if SNAP benefits had been halted,” said Diane Yentel, president of the National Council of Nonprofits.
Nonetheless, uncertainty remains. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the contingency funds would only sustain the program for a short time and accused Senate Democrats of “dereliction of duty” for blocking a bill to extend funding.
The administration has not indicated whether it will appeal, leaving millions of beneficiaries, most of them families with children, waiting anxiously for their November benefits to arrive.
