After two federal judges issued President Donald Trump an ultimatum regarding SNAP benefits, the Trump administration has finally put forth a plan to keep millions of Americans from starving… at least for now.
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We previously told you millions went without SNAP benefits starting Nov. 1 after Congress failed to come to an agreement over funding. The pause to food assistance marked the first time in history SNAP had ever been cut off. Expectedly, Democrats, Republicans, human rights activists and federal judges pushed back against the president, who ultimately had the power to overturn this unprecedented issue.
Several states took legal action against the administration. In Massachusetts, Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the government is required to tap into emergency money for SNAP, even if it’s just making partial payments. She gave Trump until Monday (Nov. 3) to come up with a plan to make it happen.
In response to the judge’s ruling, Trump took to his social media app, Truth Social, saying he “instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.” He went on to blame Democrats for the shutdown: “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay,” he wrote
The administration told a federal court in accordance with the Monday deadline that it will partially pay out SNAP benefits to the nearly 42 million Americans on the program. He only promised to fund assistance only during the month of November, according to the court filing. SNAP recipients are now set to receive 50 percent of what they normally would under the president’s new court order.
Under past government shutdowns, emergency money has always been used to provide food assistance for Americans. The Trump administration previously argued that money in the $5 billion contingency fund could not be used for SNAP. But after another judge in Rhode Island pushed back against Trump’s claims about funding, the administration drastically changed its tune.
In a separate lawsuit, Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. ruled in favor of Democracy Forward, the organization which requested a temporary restraining order in light of the pause to benefits, CBS News reported. On Saturday (Nov. 1), McConnell gave Trump the same Monday deadline to figure out a way to use contingency funds for SNAP. Both McConnell and Talwani ruled it’s up to the Trump administration to decide exactly how much money will be distributed.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, sent out a memo last week declaring “the well has run dry.” For over a month, Congress has been at a stand still regarding federal funding. Democrats want Republicans to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for Americans; Republicans want the government to open up before any negotiations can be made.
“Right now, the problem is everybody wants to win,” W.V. Sen. Jim Justice said of the current debacle. “And you’ve got a lot of people really hurting, and that really upsets me,” the Republican continued.
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