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The Trump administration said Monday it will use all $4.65 billion in contingency funds to provide partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments for November, following a federal court order requiring the government to resume the food benefit program despite the ongoing government shutdown.
In a court filing, the administration said the funds would cover roughly half of each eligible household’s monthly benefit and warned that at least $4 billion more in federal funding would be required to make full payments.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island ruled Friday that the administration must issue either full SNAP payments by Monday or partial payments by Wednesday. His order followed lawsuits from Democratic-led states and advocacy groups arguing that suspending food benefits during a shutdown violates federal law and endangers millions of low-income Americans.
“There is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown,” McConnell wrote, citing a 2019 Trump-era guidance memo confirming that such funds could be used when regular SNAP appropriations lapse.
The administration acknowledged the directive but said in its Monday filing that no additional reserves will remain after the partial disbursement — leaving “no funds available for new applicants, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely.”
The Agriculture Department also rejected suggestions that it tap Section 32 funds — a separate account used to stabilize farm income and finance child nutrition programs — arguing that doing so would “leave an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding that Congress has never had to fill.”
“Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP,” wrote USDA Under Secretary Patrick Penn, adding that diverting those dollars would threaten school lunch and breakfast programs nationwide.
Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs in the Rhode Island case, said it was weighing further legal action to force full benefit payments.
“It shouldn’t take a court order to force our President to provide essential nutrition that Congress has made clear needs to be provided,” said Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO. “We will continue to use the courts to protect the rights of people.”
The decision comes amid mounting public pressure as the government shutdown nears record length, disrupting food assistance for more than 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP. Over the weekend, long lines formed at food banks across Texas and California, where stadium parking lots were converted into emergency food distribution sites.
In a related case in Massachusetts, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said plaintiffs challenging the suspension of SNAP benefits were “likely to succeed” and ordered the administration to report by Nov. 3 on whether it would authorize reduced benefits.
The Agriculture Department had previously argued that contingency funds were not meant to cover “regular benefits” and should be reserved for emergencies like natural disasters. But with the shutdown deepening and millions of households at risk of losing access to food, the administration ultimately reversed course — at least partially complying with the court’s mandate.
