Trump Will Ask Courts How To Legally Fund SNAP After Judges Rule He Can’t Block Food Stamps

Topline

President Donald Trump said Friday he has instructed White House lawyers to ask courts for more clarity on how his administration can legally fund the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program “as soon as possible,” after two judges ordered the use of emergency funds to continue funding the program during the shutdown.

The ruling was made Friday afternoon.

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Key Facts

Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell and Massachusetts District Judge Indira Talwani both ruled Friday that the Trump administration could not block SNAP benefits, used by about 42 million Americans.

McConnell said $6 billion in emergency funds appropriated by Congress for SNAP must be used to at least partially provide eligible Americans with their benefits (SNAP payouts cost around $8 billion per month).

The Trump administration has argued the Agriculture Department lacks the legal authority to use the emergency funds, claiming the money is reserved for emergencies like natural disasters.

After the ruling Friday, Trump said he had instructed White House lawyers to ask courts to provide clarity and legal direction on how to fund SNAP.

McConnell also ordered the administration to identify what other federal funds could keep SNAP benefits flowing in the case that a funding bill is not passed by Congress amid the shutdown.

The Agriculture Department’s website states SNAP benefits will be suspended Nov. 1, blaming Democrats and saying “the well has run dry.”

What To Watch For

Another federal judge said a group of 25 states that have sued the Trump administration over the SNAP shutdown are “likely to succeed on their claim” that the funding suspension is unlawful. That judge did not outright order the Trump administration to issue SNAP payments Saturday. However, the administration must inform the judge by Monday whether it will pay out the benefits, even if they only partially cover the amount needed to give full payments to eligible Americans.

Key Background

The government shutdown at the heart of the SNAP funding lapse has gone on for 31 days, with the Senate failing over a dozen times to advance legislation that would end it. Alongside the furloughing of over federal workers, over half a million of whom have kept their jobs but are working without pay, food stamps have been put on the chopping block throughout the shutdown. The coalition of states sued the Trump administration Tuesday to prevent the SNAP funds from lapsing, arguing the federal government has a “statutory obligation” to food stamps during the shutdown. In response to the lawsuit, an Agriculture Department spokesperson blamed Democrats in an email sent to Forbes.