Trump administration agrees to partially fund SNAP despite government shutdown

The federal food stamp program will pay out partial benefits to millions of Americans despite running out of regular funding at the start of this month due to the ongoing government shutdown, the Trump administration confirmed in court documents Monday.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will receive about 50% of its normal benefit level throughout November, using a contingency fund set aside for natural disasters and other emergencies.

The announcement by the White House follows a pair of Friday rulings by federal judges in Boston and Providence, RI rejecting the US Department of Agriculture’s plan to stop paying out benefits Nov. 1.

“Per orders issued by the United States District Courts for the Districts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, FNS [Food and Nutrition Service] intends to deplete SNAP contingency funds completely and provide reduced SNAP benefits for November 2025,” a Department of Agriculture official attested in court documents.

SNAP has about $4.65 billion in its contingency fund — a little more than half of the $8 billion the feds spend on SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million Americans each month. Normally, beneficiaries receive about $190 per month in assistance.

The Department of Agriculture indicated that recipients will be able to petition for additional benefits as the Trump administration scrambles to address the funding lapse.

“In addition to adjusting eligibility and benefit issuance files to accommodate the reduction, States must notify all SNAP households of the reduction, as well as handle any requests for fair hearings from SNAP households related to the reduction,” the official added.

In late September, the Department of Agriculture penned a memo warning it didn’t have the legal authority to transfer the emergency money to address a funding lapse, an explanation that was rejected by Boston US District Judge Indira Talwani and Providence US District Judge John J. McConnell, both of whom said the feds were obligated by law to keep the program going.

Following the rulings, President Trump said on Truth Social that White House lawyers were trying to figure out how to provide at least partial benefits in compliance with the rulings.

Monday’s court filing noted that the White House ruled out tapping into Child Nutrition Program funds, an option suggested by both judges, to make up for the SNAP lapse due to uncertainty over whether Congress would replenish that money.

“Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP,” the Department of Agriculture official added. “Using billions of dollars from Child Nutrition for SNAP would leave an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding that Congress has never had to fill with annual appropriations, and USDA cannot predict what Congress will do under these circumstances.”

Democratic officials in 25 states and Washington, DC, had challenged the Trump administration after it previously declared that it had no viable way to fund SNAP during the shutdown once funding ran out on Nov. 1.

It was unclear how soon SNAP recipients would receive their benefits due to the ongoing legal skirmish.

The government shutdown entered its 34th day Monday, one short of matching the longest funding lapse in US history.

The federal food stamp program will pay out partial benefits to millions of Americans despite running out of regular funding at the start of this month due to the ongoing government shutdown, the Trump administration confirmed in court documents Monday.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will receive about 50% of its normal benefit level throughout November, using a contingency fund set aside for natural disasters and other emergencies.

The announcement by the White House follows a pair of Friday rulings by federal judges in Boston and Providence, RI rejecting the US Department of Agriculture’s plan to stop paying out benefits Nov. 1.

“Per orders issued by the United States District Courts for the Districts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, FNS [Food and Nutrition Service] intends to deplete SNAP contingency funds completely and provide reduced SNAP benefits for November 2025,” a Department of Agriculture official attested in court documents.

SNAP has about $4.65 billion in its contingency fund — a little more than half of the $8 billion the feds spend on SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million Americans each month. Normally, beneficiaries receive about $190 per month in assistance.

The Department of Agriculture indicated that recipients will be able to petition for additional benefits as the Trump administration scrambles to address the funding lapse.

“In addition to adjusting eligibility and benefit issuance files to accommodate the reduction, States must notify all SNAP households of the reduction, as well as handle any requests for fair hearings from SNAP households related to the reduction,” the official added.

In late September, the Department of Agriculture penned a memo warning it didn’t have the legal authority to transfer the emergency money to address a funding lapse, an explanation that was rejected by Boston US District Judge Indira Talwani and Providence US District Judge John J. McConnell, both of whom said the feds were obligated by law to keep the program going.

Following the rulings, President Trump said on Truth Social that White House lawyers were trying to figure out how to provide at least partial benefits in compliance with the rulings.

Monday’s court filing noted that the White House ruled out tapping into Child Nutrition Program funds, an option suggested by both judges, to make up for the SNAP lapse due to uncertainty over whether Congress would replenish that money.

“Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP,” the Department of Agriculture official added. “Using billions of dollars from Child Nutrition for SNAP would leave an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding that Congress has never had to fill with annual appropriations, and USDA cannot predict what Congress will do under these circumstances.”

Democratic officials in 25 states and Washington, DC, had challenged the Trump administration after it previously declared that it had no viable way to fund SNAP during the shutdown once funding ran out on Nov. 1.

It was unclear how soon SNAP recipients would receive their benefits due to the ongoing legal skirmish.

The government shutdown entered its 34th day Monday, one short of matching the longest funding lapse in US history.