Trump administration must pay SNAP benefits despite shutdown: judge

On Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island blocked the Trump administration from halting payments of SNAP benefits, which help feed 42 million Americans during the U.S. government shutdown.

Justice Jack McConnell’s oral ruling directing food stamp benefits to be paid out of emergency funds “as soon as possible” came a day before the administration was set to cut aid.

“There is no question, there is no debate, that irreparable harm will begin to occur if the fear that has caused some people about their ability to feed their families has not already occurred,” McConnell said.

McConnell’s ruling came minutes after another federal judge in Boston, who is overseeing another similar case, said the group of states that are plaintiffs in the case are likely to prove that the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits is “unlawful.”

That judge, Indira Talwani, gave the administration until Monday to tell whether she would approve reducing SNAP benefits for at least November.

President Donald Trump issued a statement on social media late Friday saying, “Our government’s lawyers do not believe we have the legal authority to disburse the specific funds available to SNAP, and now two courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do.”

“I don’t want Americans to go hungry because radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Therefore, I have directed our attorneys to ask the court to clarify as soon as possible how SNAP can be legally funded.”

“I would be honored to provide funding, as I have done with military and law enforcement salaries, if appropriate legal direction is given by the courts,” he said.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the case before McConnell argued in a court hearing Friday that cutting off SNAP benefits was an “arbitrary and capricious act” that created a “crisis” for Americans who need food stamps.

Attorneys for the Justice Department argued that SNAP no longer exists because it no longer has the funding appropriated by Congress as a result of the shutdown.

Attorney Tyler Becker also argued that it is at the administration’s discretion whether to use up to $6 billion in contingency funds already set aside by Congress to continue issuing SNAP benefits.

“The government can’t just provide SNAP benefits because the SNAP program doesn’t exist,” Becker said.

“A government shutdown is not an emergency,” Becker said, adding that even if it were, it was caused by Congress’ failure to appropriate funds to keep the government running.

But McConnell directed his administration to use available emergency funds to preserve at least some of the SNAP benefits normally paid.

The judge also said that even in the absence of a funding bill from Congress, the government must consider whether other federal funds are available to continue operating the program.

McConnell’s ruling granted a temporary restraining order to plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Providence against the Trump administration seeking to preserve benefits.

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett did not say in an interview Friday afternoon on NBC News’ “Meet the Press Now” whether the Trump administration would abide by either court’s ruling.

“Today’s ruling is a lifeline for the millions of families, seniors, and veterans who rely on SNAP to put food on the table,” the coalition of plaintiffs said in a statement.

The coalition government said it “reaffirms the fundamental principle that no government can use hunger as a political weapon.” “This victory is about multiple programs, and it’s about the American values ​​of fairness, compassion, and accountability that bind our democracy.”

Plaintiffs include city groups, charities and faith-based nonprofits, labor unions, and business associations.

In a separate order Friday, Judge Talwani in Boston said he was still considering the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order to preserve benefits.

But she also ordered the administration to communicate by Monday “a timeline for determining whether to approve a reduction in SNAP benefits for at least the month of November, and, if so, whether to approve only a reduction in SNAP benefits using emergency funds or the full amount of SNAP benefits using both emergency funds and available additional funds.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York praised both rulings.

“Good,” Schumer wrote in a post on social media site X.

“President Trump’s decision to terminate SNAP was vindictive and callous,” Schumer wrote.

“He was trying to fabricate a hunger crisis so we wouldn’t have to fix health care. No president in American history has ever cut off SNAP during a government shutdown, including President Trump’s first term.”

Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, strongly criticized the ruling.

“We’re trying to use emergency funding from the Department of Agriculture because of a ruling by a liberal judge that we disagree with on the law,” Hassett said in an interview on Fox News.

“But we don’t have an emergency fund for hurricanes or food emergencies,” Hassett said. “So we have to open the government. We have to do it as soon as possible. And the Democrats really don’t have a plan.”

The Trump administration is blaming Senate Democrats for shutting down the Senate after Democrats refused to vote on a short-term funding bill proposed by House Republicans that did not include expanded Affordable Care Act funding that Democrats advocated.