“There is no excuse that justifies” not utilizing “every resource available” to fund SNAP, one critic said.
The Trump administration announced on Monday that it will provide only half of the usual Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in November after money for the program officially ran out on Saturday amid the ongoing government shutdown.
More than 42 million Americans, amounting to around 1 in 8 families overall, depend on the program, sometimes known as food stamps, to pay for some or all of their groceries. Due to the shutdown, the White House had announced that it would no longer disperse funds for SNAP benefits to states starting November 1.
Several states and nonprofits sued the Trump administration over its decision, arguing that contingency funding could partially fund the program, and that funds from other sources could be reallocated to help make up the difference. Federal Judge Jack McConnell, one of two judges to find the administration had erred in its decision, ordered the White House to take one of two options: fully fund November payments by using contingency funds plus funds from the Child Nutrition Program, or fund just half of benefits for November using the contingency funds alone.
