President Donald Trump has declared that his administration will defy two federal court orders requiring the government to release full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, leaving tens of millions of people without the food aid they are entitled to as the government shutdown enters its 35th day.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump wrote, “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! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled on Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture must pay at least part of the $8 billion in monthly SNAP benefits owed to recipients through an emergency contingency fund approved by Congress. Despite these rulings, the administration said it will only fund around half of the required benefits for November and warned that millions of people would experience payment delays.
At a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was complying with the court’s decision, though she acknowledged that families would face a wait. “The administration is fully complying with the court order. I just spoke to the president about it,” Leavitt said. “The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take some time to receive this money, because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position. We are digging into a contingency fund that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war. And the president does not want to have to tap into this fund in the future.”
Leavitt added, “The Department of Agriculture, as for the latest SNAP payment and the judge’s order, put out guidance to states today on how to get that money to the recipients of SNAP. But it’s going to take some time.”
The Department of Agriculture also instructed grocery stores not to provide discounts to SNAP recipients during the shutdown, further restricting food access for struggling families.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) condemned Trump’s defiance, writing on social media, “After a judge ordered Donald Trump to make SNAP payments, the wannabe king declared he will defy a court order and won’t help people afford groceries. Trump’s message to 42 million Americans: Eat dirt.”
Advocates for low-income families say the refusal to fully release benefits violates the law and will worsen a nationwide hunger crisis. “The Trump-Vance administration continues to play politics with people’s lives through failing to ensure SNAP payments are expeditiously available,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “This is immoral and unlawful. The political posturing should stop now. The administration needs to fully fund SNAP benefits so people can eat, today. We should not need to go to court to force the administration to provide food all people are entitled to in this country, but here we are—back in court to demand that the administration acts consistent with the judge’s order.”
Alejandra Gomez, executive director of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), said the administration’s partial funding announcement is unacceptable. “It took two court orders and mounting public pressure for the Trump administration to fund SNAP assistance partially, which is not good enough,” she said. “Arizona families in need deserve better. December SNAP benefits are not guaranteed, and every day that Congress fails to act, children will go hungry, food banks run dry, and working families will pay the price. It is time to end the shutdown, fund healthcare and SNAP.”
According to the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office, approximately 70 percent or more of working-age, non-disabled adults receiving Medicaid and SNAP benefits work full-time, defined as 35 hours or more per week. Yet millions are now facing hunger as a result of the funding freeze.
Families across the country are already feeling the effects. Danielle Rodriguez, a single mother in Pennsylvania, told MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera that she had not received her benefits. “I did not receive any benefits at all… And they said there is no promise of even getting any type of benefits for November,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had to reach out to my utility companies and stuff like that to go on payments to use some of my bill money to buy groceries for me and my kids,” Rodriguez explained. “It’s very stressful being a single mom of two kids. I have a 9-year-old, and she is offering her piggybank money. And she’s like, ‘Mommy, do you want my piggybank money to help with groceries?’ And it’s sad to hear my child say that to me because I’m mom—I’m supposed to do everything. I’m supposed to be their protector.”
The crisis has intensified pressure on food banks and states attempting to fill the gap. The USDA reported that its emergency contingency fund holds about $4.65 billion, far less than the roughly $9 billion needed to cover full monthly benefits.
Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch, said in a statement, “At a time when rampant corporate consolidation has driven grocery prices sky-high, Trump continues to choose cruelty over the rule of law. He must abide by recent court orders and immediately release SNAP aid to the millions of low-income American families suddenly hanging on the precipice of an unconscionable hunger crisis. If Trump had any shred of humanity in him, he would do whatever was necessary to prevent hunger and suffering in the country he claims to love.”
The shutdown is now tied for the longest in U.S. history, and its consequences are reaching every corner of the country. Cuts to social programs under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have already left vulnerable households with fewer resources. With 47 million Americans, including one in five children, living in food-insecure homes, the administration’s defiance of court orders threatens to deepen what advocates call an avoidable humanitarian disaster.
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