By: Emily Nixon
On Oct. 31, two federal court judges ruled that the Trump Administration must reinstate at least partial funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston ruled the Trump administration has until Monday [Nov. 3] to decide whether to pay at least partial SNAP food benefits,” reported NPR.
“In his Friday order, [Chief Judge John J.] McConnell said the Trump administration ‘must distribute’ aid from emergency reserves as soon as possible to keep SNAP benefits flowing,” reported Ocean State Media. “From the federal bench in Providence [Rhode Island], […] he ordered the administration to submit a report on compliance, or ‘at least an update,’ by noon on Monday.”
SNAP was created in 1939 to help abate the struggles Americans faced during the Great Depression. SNAP looks to provide an avenue to fight hunger in American cities.
“Our mission is to increase food security and reduce hunger in partnership with cooperating organizations by providing children and low-income people access to food, a healthy diet, and nutrition education in a manner that supports American agriculture and inspires public confidence,” states the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Homepage.
Since its inception, SNAP has never been disrupted as it has recently been. On Oct. 10, a letter from Ronald Ward, Acting Associate Administrator of SNAP at the USDA, was sent to all Regional and State Directors of SNAP, issuing guidance to hold November electronic benefit transfer (EBT) as well as warning that funding was running out.
“[…] if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation,” stated the letter. “Considering the operational issues and constraints that exist in automated systems, and in the interest of preserving maximum flexibility, we are forced to direct States to hold their November issuance files and delay transmission to State EBT vendors until further notice. This includes on-going SNAP benefits and daily files.”
On Oct. 28, a coalition of states led by Massachusetts (MA), home to Judge Indira Talwani’s court, filed a complaint against the USDA’s suspension of benefits, claiming it “was unlawful and arbitrary” as the suit “claimed USDA had access to sufficient contingency and Section 32 funds,” according to an article by FindLaw legal blogs.
The USDA claimed that reallocating funds from the contingency fund would “undermine” other disaster programs, according to a FindLaw article.
The article states, “USDA contended it could not lawfully obligate funds it did not possess under the Antideficiency Act, and asserted that tapping contingency or Section 32 funds would undermine disaster SNAP and child nutrition programs.”
Despite their arguments, the USDA was subsequently ordered to use the funds available to them to avoid “irreparable harm” to SNAP recipients, according to the article.
“If available funds are insufficient, USDA must reduce benefits proportionally rather than suspend them entirely, and the agency could also use Section 32 funds at its discretion,” stated the article. “She [Judge Talwani] ordered the USDA to report by November 3 on whether it would authorize at least reduced November SNAP benefits.”
On Nov. 4, President Donald Trump upheld his resistance to restoring the SNAP funding on a Truth Social post.
Stating “SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars […] will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”
During a press conference on Nov. 4, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified the intentions behind Trump’s post.
“No, the administration is fully complying with the court order,” said Leavitt. “We are digging into a contingency fund that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war, and the president does not want to have to tap into this fund in the future, and that’s what he was referring to in his Truth Social post.”
Leavitt further states that the contingency fund is limited, only containing about “$5 billion” of the necessary “$9 billion” it takes to fund the program fully.
According to Leavitt, SNAP recipients need to have patience with the government, as “democrats” refuse to “reopen the government.”
“The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take some time to receive this money because the democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position,” said Leavitt. “Democrats are holding it up and making it difficult for the administration to get those payments out the door.”
Leavitt is not alone in laying the consequences of the shutdown on the Democrats’ shoulders. The official USDA website has a banner in red claiming that the democrats are “withholding services to the American people in exchange for healthcare for illegals, gender mutilation, and other unknown “leverage” points.”.
As the shutdown continues, more and more of the contingency funding and reserves will run out. As the contingency fund is insufficient to cover one month of SNAP benefits, the threat to people who depend on SNAP assistance will continue to loom until either the government reopens or more funding is allocated to the program.
This is a developing story. The Vanguard will continue to report on the SNAP program as more information is revealed.