The Trump administration isn’t backing down from its refusal to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—even after being ordered to by a judge on Thursday.
The federal government asked a federal appeals court on Friday to block a judge’s order directing the Trump administration to fully distribute November’s SNAP benefits by the end of the day. In the U.S., 42 million people—12% of Americans—rely on food stamps to buy groceries and afford food. Nearly 40% of SNAP recipients are children, and another 20% are older than 60.
On Thursday, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the government to release the full amount of federal funds for food stamps set to be distributed in November. “People have gone without for too long,” U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said during the Thursday hearing. “Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable.”
On November 3, the Trump administration said in a court filing that it would pay out half of November’s benefits to SNAP recipients, tapping into a U.S. Department of Agriculture contingency fund, after being ordered to distribute funds by two federal judges.
A day later, Trump declared that SNAP benefits would only be restored after the shutdown. “SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office . . . will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this week.
Last month, the USDA, which administers the food assistance program on the federal level, said that it would not deploy a $6 billion contingency fund to cover the cost of food stamps, in contrast with a version of a shutdown funding plan that was later removed from its website.
“SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits,” a USDA memo stated in late October. “The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”
Picking up the SNAP slack
The SNAP program has found itself on the chopping block as the federal shutdown drags on, but the Trump administration has found ways to keep other programs funded without court intervention.
In the shutdown’s early days, Trump ordered the Pentagon and the White House to use “all available funds” to pay active-duty members of the military, avoiding the fallout of service members going unpaid. In contrast to the fight over SNAP, the White House also chose to fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, better known as WIC, by using money collected from tariffs.
“The Trump White House will not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry because of the Democrats’ political games,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios.
In many cities, food banks and restaurants are scrambling to pick up the slack from the lapsed food program. In Portland, Oregon, one coffee shop raised over $300,000 to provide free meals to people who have seen their SNAP benefits dry up. Many other local businesses followed suit, offering free special meals for residents in need.
The USDA has warned grocery stores offering special deals for SNAP recipients that they might be breaking the law. “You must offer eligible foods at the same prices and on the same terms and conditions to SNAP-EBT customers as other customers,” a USDA notice confirmed by Fast Company reads. “You cannot treat SNAP-EBT customers differently than any other customers.”