More than two-dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday seeking to preserve food assistance benefits after officials announced last week they would not use emergency funds to cover the food stamp program during the government shutdown.
Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food assistance benefits to nearly 42 million people — or one in eight Americans — will run out at the end of the month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. While some states have announced plans to step in to try to cover gaps, millions of Americans are still expected to be impacted by the pause in benefits.
WATCH | Scripps News speaks with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins about the ongoing shutdown, impact to SNAP benefits
To date, the government has never fully stopped providing SNAP benefits since the modern version of program began in the early 1960s. During previous government shutdowns, SNAP recipients received reduced benefits but have never before faced a complete pause in the program.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced it would not use the more than $5 billion in emergency funding the USDA maintains to cover the program, arguing the funds are “not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”
In an interview with Scripps News, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins reiterated that her department does not have enough to cover the more than $9 billion needed to cover the cost of SNAP benefits once funds run out.
"Here's the bottom line, we have been saying now for almost a month that as of November 1, we will not have the $9.2 billion available that will be required for the entire month of November," Rollins said. "And the way that the formulas and the math works, that is an unequivocal, sort of uncontested number. We don't have the funding that is needed to keep the SNAP program going through November."
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The new lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, claims the administration’s move violates federal law, which states that those benefits “must be furnished to all eligible households” that apply.
“[T]he agency cannot simply suspend all benefits indefinitely, while refusing to spend funds from available appropriations for SNAP benefits for eligible households,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also highlights — as Scripps News has previously reported — that a since-deleted USDA plan for the government shutdown indicated the agency would use emergency funds to cover SNAP benefits, at least partially.
“Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown,” the document, dated Sept. 30, stated. “These multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.”
Asked about the previous guidance and apparent conflict with USDA’s new policy, an agency spokesperson told Scripps News in an email that the impending SNAP funds expatriation represented "an inflection point for Senate Democrats."
"Continue to hold out for the far-left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments," the spokesperson added.
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According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, nearly 62% of SNAP recipients are families with children, and nearly 37% of beneficiaries are households with older adults or people with disabilities. If SNAP benefits are halted, it could leave millions of Americans without critical food assistance.
In recent days, Democratic lawmakers have sent letters to Trump administration officials expressing concerns about their decisions not to use the emergency funds, though thus far the USDA has held firm on its new policy.
A pop-up on the agency’s website places the blame squarely on Democrats for their refusal to support a Republican package to extend government appropriations, suggesting Democrats can “continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
Democrats say they won’t support the government funding package absent action to address the impending expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits. Federal law prohibits undocumented aliens from receiving government health insurance benefits, though Democrats are seeking to roll back portions of a Republican law that blocks some immigrants in the country legally from accessing those benefits.
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Shortly after the states’ lawsuit was announced, Democracy Forward — a public policy research and legal advocacy organization that has repeatedly challenged Trump administration policies in court — signaled it may file its own lawsuit in the coming days.
“Instead of ensuring that families can continue to put food on the table, the Trump-Vance administration is using people’s basic needs as pawns in a political game,” President and CEO Skye Perryman said in a statement. “Just as we have done more than one hundred times in the last ten months, our team is prepared to file a lawsuit. We are working with the Lawyers Committee for Rhode Island to challenge this abuse of power and protect people.”
Representatives for the USDA did not immediately comment on the new lawsuit, pointing instead to their previous statement about the SNAP funds representing an “inflection point” for Democrats.
