A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to deliver SNAP payments in full to states by Friday.
The order, which U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued Thursday afternoon, followed two weeks of chaos and confusion about the fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, during the government shutdown.
McConnell ruled last week that the Trump administration had to distribute benefits as soon as possible, in response to a lawsuit filed by the progressive legal advocacy group Democracy Forward.
The administration agreed to partially fund the program by using $4.65 billion in contingency funds to cover about 65% eligible households’ benefits. But it declined to draw from additional funding set aside for child nutrition programs. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also said it would take several weeks to deliver the partial payments.
Given those expected delays, Democracy Forward filed an emergency request asking McConnell to order the Trump administration to expedite benefits or grant additional relief.
At a hearing on Thursday, the Trump administration said it had complied with the judge’s order and argued that the reason people have not received their SNAP benefits is that states have not distributed them. Tyler Becker, counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, said the partial benefits were released to states on Monday, adding that “this is a state problem.”
But McConnell said the Trump administration “did nothing to ensure” that SNAP benefits would be delivered this week. He ordered the administration to use the funding for child nutrition programs, known as Section 32 funding, in addition to the contingency funds to make sure payments are delivered in full.
“The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened and needless suffering will occur,” McConnell said. “Last weekend, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time in our nation’s history. This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
