Trump administration blocked from suspending Snap benefits for millions of Americans | Trump administration
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday afternoon blocked the Trump administration from suspending food aid to millions of Americans amid the ongoing government shutdown.
John McConnell, a U.S. district judge in Providence, issued a temporary restraining order at the request of a group of U.S. cities, nonprofits and a union, which argued that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known as Snap or food stamps, which was set to take effect Saturday, was unlawful.
The USDA said there are insufficient funds to provide full benefits to 42 million low-income Americans because issuing food stamps costs the state treasury between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.
The Trump administration says the agency does not have the authority to pay them until Congress passes a spending bill that will end the prolonged government shutdown that began October 1.
The plaintiffs in the civil case heard in Rhode Island are represented by the liberal legal advocacy group Democracy Forward. The group argued that the federal government’s decision to suspend nutritional benefits was wrong and illegal because the USDA still had funds available to fulfill its obligation to fund the Snap program.
This available funding includes $5.25 billion in emergency funds that Congress previously appropriated for USDA to use when “necessary to carry out program operations,” the plaintiffs said.
In addition to the contingency funds, the plaintiffs argued that a separate fund of about $23 billion could also be used to avoid what would be an unprecedented suspension of Snap benefits.
A federal judge in Massachusetts is considering a similar case in which plaintiffs want the government to be ordered to use emergency funds to maintain food stamps during the shutdown, helping the millions of people who rely on the benefits to stave off food insecurity.
The case involves a challenge filed by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia and three governors who sued the administration.
More details soon…
Reuters contributed to this report.
