Trump Administration Complies with Court Ruling, Releases SNAP Aid
The Department of Agriculture plans to use $4.65 billion in emergency reserves to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, according to Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services.
“The funds will cover 50% of each eligible household's current allocation,” Penn said.
The decision follows a series of court orders: on Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island directed the administration to release reserve funds, shortly after another federal judge in Massachusetts demanded the government decide by Monday whether to deploy emergency food assistance money.
On Monday, the department confirmed it would comply with the Rhode Island judge’s ruling and fulfill its obligation to distribute SNAP emergency funds.
Government shutdown effects
The federal government shutdown, now entering its second month, has disrupted food assistance programs due to a lack of new congressional appropriations.
Lawmakers remain deadlocked in Washington. The Republican-led spending bill has repeatedly failed in the Senate, while Democrats are pushing for extensions of health insurance tax credits and reversals of recent Medicaid cuts in exchange for reopening the government.
Previously, the Trump administration had resisted using SNAP emergency funds, citing a need to reserve money for natural disasters and other emergencies and claiming it lacked authority to spend the funds.
Penn noted the trade-offs: “The use of funds for food stamps has left no funding for new SNAP applicants and areas of use such as disaster assistance.”
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