Ag Policy Blog

The immediate fate of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits is playing out in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. Twenty-five states led by Democrats and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration, including USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The court battle hinges on whether USDA has the funding and authority to spend as much as $8.5 billion for SNAP benefits in November.

USDA is the lead agency for distributing SNAP benefits to nearly 42 million people monthly.

With the federal shutdown, SNAP benefits will cease on Saturday without an emergency action or Congress voting immediately to reopen the government with a Continuing Resolution.

The partial federal shutdown is now 30 days in. The longest shutdown was December 2018-January 2019 and lasted 35 days.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani on Thursday heard arguments in Massachusetts for a temporary restraining order led by the state of Massachusetts that would block USDA from cutting off benefits and require the Trump administration to use contingency funds to pay for SNAP in November.

Talwani indicated she was willing to issue an emergency order, according to CNN.

SNAP benefits on average cost about $8.2 billion per month in benefits and another $450 million in administrative costs, according to a filing by the Trump administration in the case.

The Trump administration in court filings maintained it could not use an emergency fund and that the emergency fund wasn't big enough to cover the November benefit costs. USDA also stated it could not provide a partial benefit, which has never been done before. The court filing argued there is no way for USDA to fund SNAP without congressional action.

"In short, there was no option to simply fund the SNAP program fully without an appropriation," the filing stated. It added, "The suggestion otherwise is disconnected from the reality of the situation."

The administration had previously noted there were billions of dollars across multiple accounts USDA could use if needed.

Talwani questioned the administration's stance, according to the New York Times and CNN.

"Right now, Congress has put money in an emergency fund for an emergency, and it's hard for me to understand how this isn't an emergency when there's no money and a lot of people are needing their SNAP benefits," Talwani said, CNN reported.

Talwani also said Congress had told the administration what to do with those funds. "You need to figure out how to stretch that emergency money now," the Washington Post quoted Talwani as saying.

The Washington Post added, "The judge made it clear she wants USDA to get the money out the door, not come up with excuses for why it believes it can't. 'That's lawyering,' she said. 'I want agency action, not lawyering.'"

While Talwani seems willing to rule for the states, it's unclear if the Trump administration is prepared to appeal the ruling, which would then drag out the prospect of SNAP benefits until an appeals court weighs in as well.

At least some states have announced emergency benefits to try to cover some of the shortfall in federal funds. Others announced funding to help support food banks and pantries. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced her state would match cash donations to food banks, up to $1 million. She also said the state was recruiting volunteers to help with food assistance, and she ordered the Iowa National Guard to be prepared to help with food distribution across the state.

People on social media have also made a range of false claims about SNAP funds. Walmart told Fox Business the company did not intend to close stores after people spread fear on TikTok about potential looting of stories. "These claims are false, and we will continue to be open for business," a Walmart spokesperson stated to Fox Business.

Also see "A Broken Government Uses SNAP Recipients as Shutdown Leverage" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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