Judges Order SNAP Funding for 42 Million

U.S. District Judges Indira Talwani (Mass.) and John J. McConnell (R.I.) ordered the Trump administration to continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the federal shutdown, finding that suspending benefits would be unlawful. The judges said the administration must tap roughly $5–6 billion in USDA contingency funds — and other available resources if necessary — to provide at least partial benefits to about 42 million Americans whose payments were set to stop on Nov. 1. The government was given until Monday, Nov. 3 to explain how it will proceed; the administration has argued it lacks legal authority to use the funds and that appropriations are exhausted. The legal action was brought by a coalition of roughly 25–26 Democratic governors, state attorneys general, cities and nonprofits, and several states have prepared emergency measures and bolstered local support for food banks. The judges allowed the administration flexibility to fund SNAP partially or fully for November, but uncertainty remains about when beneficiaries will receive payments, how much they will get, and whether the government will appeal.