Two judges rule to keep SNAP funding flowing amid government shutdown, affecting food aid for millions.
two federal judges—one in Massachusetts and another in Rhode Island—handed down rulings within hours of each other, effectively forcing the Trump administration to keep money flowing to the nation’s largest food aid program. The orders compel the administration to dip into contingency funds to sustain SNAP, even as the shutdown continues. Interestingly, the judges didn’t dictate exactly how much funding must go out, allowing the administration to choose between partial or full coverage for November. It’s another example of the judiciary inserting itself into fiscal policy while still acknowledging the limits of its own authority.
The rulings came a day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown.
The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net — and it costs about $8 billion per month nationally.
Democratic state attorneys general or governors from 25 states, as well as the District of Columbia, challenged the plan to pause the program, contending that the administration has a legal obligation to keep it running in their jurisdictions.
