Dozens Of States Sue Trump's USDA Over SNAP Benefit Freeze

Democratic leaders from 25 states are suing the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prevent the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown, per NBC News.

The lawsuit, which is set to be filed on Tuesday (October 28) in Massachusetts federal court, argues that the USDA is legally obligated to continue providing food assistance as long as funds remain available. It seeks a temporary restraining order requiring the agency to use contingency funds appropriated by Congress to keep SNAP operating through November.

Over the weekend, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the SNAP program, which helps one in eight Americans buy groceries, was being suspended beginning in November because the department had allegedly exhausted all of its available funds due to the budget impasse. The agency said it wouldn't distribute November benefits without new congressional action.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 1," a USDA spokesperson said in a statement.

If benefits are halted, it would mark the first time in the 60-year history of the food stamp program that payments have stopped because of a government shutdown.

“Millions of Americans are about to go hungry because the federal government has chosen to withhold food assistance it is legally obligated to provide,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools to fight hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running.”

The coalition of plaintiffs includes attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. They argue that the USDA’s refusal to allocate contingency funds violates the Food and Nutrition Act, which guarantees access to SNAP benefits, and is “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act.

The department maintains that its contingency funds are not legally available for regular SNAP benefits, saying they are reserved for emergencies such as natural disasters. It also warned that redirecting money could reduce funding for school meal programs and infant formula under WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

October benefits were allocated before the shutdown, so families haven't yet seen disruptions. However, states have begun warning recipients that they could lose access to benefits next month, with some directing residents to food banks and urging them to stock up on shelf-stable goods.

The lawsuit could determine whether the nation’s largest food assistance program continues uninterrupted or whether millions of low-income families go hungry as the shutdown continues.

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