A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to immediately deliver full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to states today, bringing an end to weeks of confusion over food aid during the government shutdown, NBC News reported.
In a ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell said the administration must use all available funds, including those reserved for child nutrition programs, to restore the full value of monthly SNAP payments. The order follows a lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward, which accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of unlawfully delaying payments during the shutdown.
“The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened and needless suffering will occur,” McConnell said in a hearing. “Last weekend, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time in our nation’s history. This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided.”
According to NBC News, the USDA had previously planned to issue about 65% of normal benefits using $4.65 billion in contingency funds, but declined to tap into Section 32 funding, a reserve typically used for child nutrition programs. At Thursday’s hearing, government attorney Tyler Becker argued that the funds had already been sent to states and that any delays were due to “a state problem.”
Judge McConnell disagreed, saying the administration “did nothing to ensure” the payments were distributed promptly.
Following the ruling, the Trump administration filed a notice of its intent to appeal to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. The White House has referred questions about the case to the Office of Management and Budget, which has not commented publicly.
Speaking during a dinner with Central Asian leaders, Vice President JD Vance called the judge’s order “absurd,” adding, “In the midst of a shutdown, we can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation.”
The temporary lapse in benefits has already affected millions, as nearly 42 million Americans rely on SNAP, most in households that include a child, senior, or person with a disability.
In Texas alone, about 3.5 million people depend on SNAP assistance.
“When you’re in a position to provide for people who are depending on these life-sustaining services, how can you be at war with each other in the midst of people trying to survive?” LaTonya Gamble, a 50-year-old SNAP recipient from Erie, Pennsylvania, told NBC News.
