WASHINGTON, DC — Donald Trump used a “Truth Social” post this morning to indicate that his administration will now not pay SNAP benefits for the month of November unless the government shutdown ends. The post comes after a Monday court filing in Rhode Island in which the administration said it would partially fund benefits using a $5.3 billion SNAP contingency fund.
Mr. Trump’s comments add to the whiplash that nearly 42 million Americans are feeling regarding whether their food benefits will be paid or not, and when. In Monday’s filing, the administration said that payments may take “weeks or months,” saying that states would need to “reprogram” their systems to process the reduced payments.
In his “Truth Social” post, Trump said, “SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly “handed” to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!
Last week, two federal courts, one in Rhode Island and one in Massachusetts nearly simultaneously ruled that the administration must use contingency funds already approved and allocated by congress to pay November’s benefits. The Rhode Island court gave the USDA until Monday to inform as to how it would make those payments. Under that ruling, the USDA could make a partial payment using only the $5.3 billion SNAP contingency fund, or fully fund benefits using funds from other USDA resources.
