Trump administration seeks pause on judge’s order to fully fund SNAP
The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court for an emergency stay of a judge’s order that required full funding of November SNAP benefits for more than 40 million Americans. In a Friday court filing, the administration said that because of the government shutdown, it can access only enough money to issue partial payments.
“This is a crisis, to be sure, but it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action,” the administration wrote in the filing in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “This court should allow USDA to continue with the partial payment and not compel the agency to transfer billions of dollars from another safety net program with no certainty of their replenishment.”
Previous lawsuit and ruling
On Thursday, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to fully fund the nation’s food stamps program by Friday. The order came days after two court rulings mandated that officials use contingency funds for the program.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by several nonprofits after the Department of Agriculture said it would suspend benefits as of Nov. 1, should the government remain closed.
Congress has failed to pass a funding bill, keeping the government shutdown in place since Oct. 1. The Senate will vote again on a bill to reopen the government Friday.
CBS News reported that Republicans added language to the bill that would guarantee a future vote on extending health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Democrats have demanded that Congress agree to extend the subsidies before they would vote to reopen the government.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s hopeful to gain enough Democratic votes to pass a new continuing budget resolution.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
