Courts Block Trump Administration From Suspending SNAP Benefits

Two courts decided in separate rulings that the Trump administration's suspension of SNAP benefits for low-income during the government shutdown was unlawful.

The United States government remains shut down due to a government impasse in Congress, preventing them from passing a spending bill for the new fiscal year. Because of this, the government is without approved funding, forcing them to close down all non-essential programs like the National Park Service. Other essential programs like Homeland Security and air traffic controllers continue to operate, but employees in these sectors often go without pay and are recompensated for their work at a later date.

Last week, as the shutdown persisted, the Department of Agriculture announced that they would be suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, on November 1. The organization provides food stamps to over 42 million low-income Americans across the country, making up over 12% of the United States population. The Trump administration supported this decision, claiming that the department would be unable to pay for SNAP benefits until a spending bill was passed. The move quickly sparked alarm among recipients of benefits, who would soon be unable to pay for food.

However, those efforts were rejected in two separate rulings yesterday. Issuing food stamps to the low-income population who needs them costs the government around $8.5 to $9 billion each month, spurring Trump to hastily announce that the benefits would have to be suspended.

One case was brought to a federal judge in Rhode Island by several cities, nonprofits, and a trade union, and the judge ruled that the Trump administration did not have the power to suspend SNAP benefits, and there was additional funding to keep the program going during the shutdown. Evidence presented in the court elucidated that the USDA maintains a contingency fund of over $23 billion for situations like this, and an additional $5.25 billion can be provided by the federal government if needed.

The other case, brought to a district judge in Massachusetts by several Democratic attorney generals and three governors, confirmed that the government would be able to pay for SNAP benefits and gave them the option to decide whether to utilize contingency funds or approve additional funding by November 3.

In total, both cases are a huge win for the low-income population of the United States, who could have plunged into dangerous, uncharted territory if SNAP benefits were truly suspended during the shutdown.

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Image credit to New York Times