A federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts gave the United States Department of Agriculture until Monday to come up with a plan to at least partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.Almost simultaneously, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds – and similarly asked for an update on progress by Monday.The order comes in response to a lawsuit against the Trump administration brought by 25 states, including Massachusetts.In her memorandum entered on Friday, Judge Indira Talwani said, “Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and are likely to succeed on their claim that Defendants’ suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful.”The judge appears to be siding with the states in that the government should fund the SNAP program, though she is stopping short of dictating how the funding should be handled amid the government shutdown. “Whether Defendants choose to use only the appropriated Contingency Funds and reduce benefits or use the additional discretionary funds to cover the shortfall, Defendants today have different options before them based on the court’s findings,” Judge Talwani’s memorandum read. “And where Defendants may today opt to provide full funding of SNAP benefits from previously appropriated funds, Plaintiffs have not yet demonstrated a risk of irreparable harm.”A coalition of governors an attorney generals previously sued the Trump administration to prevent billions of dollars in cuts to federal food assistance.Judge Talwani previously indicated that she views the current government shutdown as an emergency of the kind Congress created the $5 billion emergency fund to cover.Representatives of the federal government argued that the emergency fund wasn’t large enough to cover full disbursements, and they said that could be “catastrophic” to administer.The states also argued that a separate fund with around $23 billion could be tapped.The full cost of running SNAP is around $8 billion per month.SNAP cuts are currently on track to kick in on Saturday due to the government shutdown. More than 1 million Massachusetts residents will be affected, of which 32% are children, 31% are people with disabilities, and 26% are older adults.Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is part of the suit.”While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state. Suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act,” Campbell’s office wrote in a statement about the lawsuit.Democratic lawmakers have also called on the administration to use the contingency funds to keep food aid flowing into November, but the idea was rejected by the Department of Agriculture and the Trump administration, which argued it does not have the power to use the fund to cover the SNAP program.
A federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts gave the United States Department of Agriculture until Monday to come up with a plan to at least partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Almost simultaneously, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds – and similarly asked for an update on progress by Monday.
The order comes in response to a lawsuit against the Trump administration brought by 25 states, including Massachusetts.
In her memorandum entered on Friday, Judge Indira Talwani said, “Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and are likely to succeed on their claim that Defendants’ suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful.”
The judge appears to be siding with the states in that the government should fund the SNAP program, though she is stopping short of dictating how the funding should be handled amid the government shutdown.
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“Whether Defendants choose to use only the appropriated Contingency Funds and reduce benefits or use the additional discretionary funds to cover the shortfall, Defendants today have different options before them based on the court’s findings,” Judge Talwani’s memorandum read. “And where Defendants may today opt to provide full funding of SNAP benefits from previously appropriated funds, Plaintiffs have not yet demonstrated a risk of irreparable harm.”
A coalition of governors an attorney generals previously sued the Trump administration to prevent billions of dollars in cuts to federal food assistance.
Judge Talwani previously indicated that she views the current government shutdown as an emergency of the kind Congress created the $5 billion emergency fund to cover.
Representatives of the federal government argued that the emergency fund wasn’t large enough to cover full disbursements, and they said that could be “catastrophic” to administer.
The states also argued that a separate fund with around $23 billion could be tapped.
The full cost of running SNAP is around $8 billion per month.
SNAP cuts are currently on track to kick in on Saturday due to the government shutdown. More than 1 million Massachusetts residents will be affected, of which 32% are children, 31% are people with disabilities, and 26% are older adults.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is part of the suit.
“While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state. Suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act,” Campbell’s office wrote in a statement about the lawsuit.
Democratic lawmakers have also called on the administration to use the contingency funds to keep food aid flowing into November, but the idea was rejected by the Department of Agriculture and the Trump administration, which argued it does not have the power to use the fund to cover the SNAP program.
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