Federal judge orders Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits out of contingency fund

A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute money owed to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients “as soon as possible,” just a day before SNAP funding expires.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s ruling came shortly after another federal judge in a separate case ruled that the Trump administration’s plan to not pay SNAP benefits starting Nov. 1 because of the ongoing shutdown was “unlawful” but did not order the Trump administration to disperse the funds.

Speaking in favor of a group of cities and community organizations that have sued over the cuts, McConnell said the USDA must fund SNAP using money from a contingency fund. But he added that if the ministry believes the money in the contingency fund is insufficient, then the agency must use other sources of funding to make those payments.

“There is no question that the six billion dollars in contingency funds are appropriated funds that are undoubtedly necessary to carry out the operation of the program,” McConnell said in his oral ruling. “Shutting down government funding does not eliminate SNAP. It simply eliminates its funding. There could be no greater need than a blanket ban on funds for program operations.”

McConnell added: “There is no question, and it is indisputable, that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it has not already occurred in the terror it has caused some people about the availability of funds to feed their families. »

McConnell responded to the Trump administration’s argument that reserve funds might be needed for other reasons in the near future, such as in the wake of a hypothetical hurricane.

“It is clear that, compared to the millions of people who will be left without funds to feed themselves and the agency’s desire not to use contingency funds in case of need in a hurricane, the balance of these funds clearly goes in the direction of ensuring that people are fed,” the judge said.

McConnell asked the administration for an update on SNAP funding by Monday at 12 p.m. ET.

NBC News has reached out to the White House, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the USDA for comment.

Democracy Forward, a progressive legal advocacy group that represented the plaintiffs, applauded the decision.

“Today’s decision affirms what both the law and basic decency demand: The Trump-Vance administration must use its power to support the American people, not harm them,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement.

Perryman’s group represented a range of plaintiffs including local municipalities, nonprofit charitable and faith-based organizations, and business and labor groups in the Rhode Island lawsuit.

In the statement, Perryman added that their group is “honored to represent a coalition that has refused to accept hunger as a cruel political pressure tactic – and we will continue to fight to ensure our institutions serve people with integrity, compassion and accountability.”

In a separate ruling, a federal judge in Boston said Friday she wants additional briefings before deciding whether the Agriculture Department should use emergency funds to maintain SNAP benefits for millions of Americans after Democratic leaders sued the agency.

“The plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and will likely prevail in their claim that the defendants’ suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful, Judge Indira Talwani wrote in her finding.

“Where this suspension of benefits was based on a misinterpretation of the relevant statutory provisions, the court will allow defendants to determine whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November and report to the court no later than Monday, November 3, 2025,” she wrote.

Talwani, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, said Thursday that the government cannot simply suspend benefits because it cannot afford to cover the program.

Talwani said she would like to have a response from the administration no later than Monday, November 3, 2025.

On Tuesday, attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture, arguing that it is legally required to continue providing SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, as long as the USDA has the funding. They asked the judge to force the agency to use contingency funds allocated by Congress.

The lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order that would force the agency to provide SNAP benefits through November in their states.

The USDA said in a message on its website that benefits will not be provided on EBT cards as planned on November 1. Up to 42 million Americans rely on this program.