USDA tells states to ‘undo’ efforts to issue full food aid benefits
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Volunteers distribute groceries at the Church of the Good Shepherd food pantry in Manhattan, New York, on Nov 1.
PHOTO: MARCO POSTIGO STOREL/NYTIMES
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WASHINGTON – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has directed states to roll back any steps taken to issue full food aid benefits to low-income Americans or risk financial penalties.
The new guidance issued late on Nov 8 follows the US Supreme Court order on Nov 7 that allowed the Trump administration to continue withholding US$4 billion (S$5.2 billion)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (Snap) benefits, also known as food stamps, lapsed at the start of November for the first time in the programme’s 60-year history due to the federal government shutdown, which is now in its 40th day.
Hours before the Supreme Court order, the USDA had informed states in a memo that it was working to comply with a federal judge’s order to fully fund Snap, even as the administration moved to appeal against the ruling.
After getting that Nov 7 memo, several states said they were starting the process of issuing full benefits. But those state actions are now unauthorised because of the Supreme Court order, the USDA wrote in guidance released on Nov 8. State governments should instead issue only partial benefits, it said, adding that they must “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full Snap benefits for November 2025”.
“Failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the federal share of state administrative costs and holding states liable for any over-issuances that result from the non-compliance,” its memo said.
Some states had previously said they would fund November Snap benefits using state funds. It was not immediately clear whether the memo applied to actions taken by those states. The USDA did not respond to a request for comment.
Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were among the states that said on Nov 7 they were moving to issue full benefits to Snap recipients. None of the states immediately responded to inquiries about how they would respond to the memo.
“If President Trump wants to penalise states for preventing Americans from going hungry, we will see him in court,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a written statement.
“We will continue to work with (Massachusetts) Attorney-General (Andrea) Campbell to make sure everyone gets the full benefits they are owed,” Ms Healey added.
A spokesperson for New Jersey’s Office of the Governor said in a statement that the state is closely monitoring developments.
“Washington Republicans’ determination to starve American citizens during this government shutdown is shameful,” the spokesperson said. “We hope that a fair resolution to this unnecessary, unprecedented problem is reached soon and federal funding for Snap and other lapsed programmes is backfilled.”
Legal fight
States, cities and non-profits all sued the administration of President Donald Trump to issue full Snap benefits after it said in October that the programme would lapse on Nov 1.
Two federal judges ruled on Oct 31 that the administration needed to at least partially fund the benefits using an agency contingency fund of about US$5 billion. Snap benefits cost about US$8 billion to US$9 billion per month.
The administration said it would comply with the order, but warned of weeks or months of delay due to technical hurdles.
Cities and non-profits represented by the liberal legal group Democracy Forward argued those actions were inadequate and pressed US District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island to order the administration to issue full benefits.
On Nov 6, Mr McConnell ordered the administration to fully fund November’s Snap by the following day, which was quickly appealed by the Department of Justice.
The Supreme Court’s Nov 7 order gave the Boston-based First US Circuit Court of Appeals additional time to consider the administration’s formal request to only partially fund the benefits.
As the legal fight plays out, many Snap recipients have turned to already strained food pantries and made sacrifices such as forgoing medications to stretch tight budgets. REUTERS
