States administering a federal food aid program serving about 42 million Americans faced uncertainty Monday over whether they can — and should — provide full monthly benefits during an ongoing legal battle relating to the U.S. government shutdown.
President Donald Trump’s administration over weekend demanded that states “undo” full benefits that were paid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during a one-day window between when a federal judge ordered full funding and a Supreme Court justice put a temporary pause on that order.
A federal appeals court now is considering whether to impose a longer halt to the full benefits. Congress is also mulling over whether to fund SNAP as part of a proposal to end the government shutdown.
Some states are warning of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for the SNAP benefits they already authorized. Meanwhile, others are providing partial monthly SNAP benefits using either federal money or their own funds to load electronic benefit cards for recipients.
Millions receive aid while others wait
Initially, Trump’s administration stated SNAP benefits would not be available in November due to the government shutdown. However, after several lawsuits from states and nonprofit groups, two judges ruled that the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely.
Following this, the administration said it would use an emergency reserve fund to provide 65% of the maximum monthly benefit. However, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell deemed this insufficient, ordering full funding for SNAP benefits by Friday.
Some states acted quickly to instruct their EBT vendors to disburse full monthly benefits to SNAP recipients. Millions of people in those states received funds for groceries before Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson placed McConnell’s order on hold Friday night, pending further deliberation by an appeals court.
Millions more people still have not received SNAP payments for November, as their states await further guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP.
The Trump administration argues that the judicial order to provide full benefits infringes upon the spending power of legislative and executive branches.
States are fighting attempts to freeze SNAP benefits
On Sunday, the Trump administration warned states that they had acted too quickly by releasing full SNAP benefits.
“States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, stated in a letter to state SNAP directors, suggesting potential penalties for non-compliance.
Wisconsin, which promptly loaded full benefits after McConnell’s order, saw its federal reimbursement frozen, raising concerns that the state’s SNAP account could be depleted as soon as Monday, risking funds that reimburse stores selling food to SNAP recipients, according to court filings submitted by the lawsuit parties.
Some Democratic governors have vowed to fight any federal attempts to retract money. In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont assured that “those who received their benefits should not worry about losing them.”
“No, Connecticut does not need to take back SNAP benefits already sent to the 360,000 people who depend on them for food and who should have never been caught in the middle of this political fight,” Lamont stated. “We have their back.”
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Reports contributed by Associated Press writers from various locations.
