A federal court in Rhode Island on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to pay all outstanding food assistance by Monday, or partial payments by Wednesday, acknowledging the “irreparable harm” a payment delay could cause.
This Rhode Island case is one of two lawsuits filed to prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture from suspending payments under the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, which provides assistance to low-income Americans.
In a ruling issued Friday, Rhode Island District Judge John J. McConnell rejected the Agriculture Department’s argument that it could not fund SNAP due to the federal government shutdown.
Saturday’s order from Judge McConnell gives the Trump administration until Monday to submit a plan to pay all benefits that day, or at least partial payments two days later.
In his order, McConnell wrote: “There is no question that the emergency funds approved by Congress must be used immediately due to the government shutdown. Indeed, during his first term, the President issued a directive stating that these emergency funds would be made available if the SNAP program funds were to run out as a result of this shutdown.”
JUDGE SAYS AGENCY MUST DISTRIBUTE MONEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Following Friday’s hearing, McConnell stated that the administration’s decision not to use $5.25 billion in emergency funds to finance November aid was arbitrary.
He specified that the agency must distribute the emergency funds “as quickly as possible” and, if these funds proved insufficient, determine whether it could draw on a separate fund of approximately $23 billion.
In a TruthSocial post on Friday, Trump wrote: “I don’t want Americans to go hungry simply because radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen government services. That’s why I’ve instructed our lawyers to petition the court to clarify how to legally fund the SNAP program as quickly as possible.”
McConnell wrote, citing a social media post by Trump, that Saturday’s order achieves precisely that goal.
“The Court greatly appreciates the President’s swift and decisive response to this order and his willingness to provide the necessary funding for the SNAP program,” the judge wrote.
SHUTDOWN PLACES BENEFITS IN JEOPARDY
SNAP benefits are available to Americans whose income is less than 130 percent of the federal poverty line, which is $1,632 per month for a single person and $2,215 for a couple in many areas. States are responsible for the day-to-day administration of these benefits, which are paid monthly. The prolonged government shutdown, which has sparked mutual accusations between Republicans and Democrats, is jeopardizing SNAP benefits.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it does not have sufficient funds to pay the full benefits to 42 million low-income Americans, at an estimated monthly cost of between $8.5 and $9 billion.
The department explained that the agency is not authorized to make these payments until Congress passes a budget bill to end the government shutdown, which began on October 1.
In a separate case brought before the courts by 25 states, led by Democrats, and the District of Columbia, Federal Judge Indira Talwani, sitting in Boston, ruled on Friday that the administration was wrong to claim it was legally prohibited from using emergency funds to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown.
