Two Judges Order the Government to Pay November SNAP Benefits From Emergency Reserves

Two federal judges ruled within hours of each other on Friday that President Donald Trump's administration must keep paying SNAP food benefits during the government shutdown, using emergency reserve money the Agriculture Department had said it could not touch. The rulings came one day before the department planned to freeze November payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the country's biggest food aid program, which helps about 42 million people buy groceries.

What the judges ordered

In Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in a written opinion that the suspension of SNAP payments was unlawful. She said the decision rested on a wrong reading of the reserve money. "Defendants' suspension of SNAP payments was based on the erroneous conclusion that the Contingency Funds could not be used to ensure continuation of SNAP payments," she wrote. "This court has now clarified that Defendants are required to use those Contingency Funds as necessary for the SNAP program." She ordered the government to tell the court by Monday whether it will pay reduced November benefits from the contingency fund or pay benefits in full by adding other available money.

In Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ruled from the bench after an emergency hearing in a separate case brought by cities and nonprofit groups. "The court is orally at this time, ordering that USDA must distribute the contingency money timely, or as soon as possible, for the November 1 payments to be made," he said. He also ordered that existing work requirement waivers stay in place, and he asked the administration for an update on progress by Monday.

The reserve does not cover a full month

SNAP costs between $8.5 billion and $9 billion a month. The contingency fund holds about $5 billion, so the reserve alone can pay only part of a normal month. That gap is why both judges left the administration a choice between partial payments from the reserve and full payments if it finds more money. Democratic officials in more than two dozen states sued in the Boston case, arguing the fund was built for a funding lapse like this one. The shutdown began on October 1, when the new federal fiscal year started without spending bills from Congress.

Before the rulings, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins argued that the contingency fund could flow only if the underlying program was funded. In a filing late Friday, the administration told the Rhode Island court it was "expeditiously attempting to comply" with Judge McConnell's order.

Cards will still load late

Even with the orders, November money is unlikely to reach benefit cards on November 1. Loading the cards can take a week or more in many states, the Associated Press reported, so families who expected benefits on the first of the month still face a delay while the department and the states work out how much each household gets. Both courts are due an answer on Monday, when the administration must say whether November benefits will be partial or full.