WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, two federal judges ruled the Trump administration needs to keep funding for food stamps, even during a government shutdown. One ruling adds that the administration should use contingency funds to keep the program going.
The rulings came a day before the US Department of Agriculture said they would not be able to distribute SNAP benefits due to the shutdown.
“SNAP will run dry tomorrow,” said USDA Secretary, Brooke Rollins, before the ruling was announced.
SNAP is a federal food program that provides benefits to low-income families. The program helps about 42-million people. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans claimed they cannot tap into contingency funds to keep the federal program up and running in a government shutdown.
“If there was any way to fund SNAP during the Democrat shutdown, you can be assured that your commander in chief would do it,” said Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R- LA).
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute, they said the administration’s claims they can’t tap into contingency funds stands in opposition to the law and prior practice, including by the Trump administration itself. The organization points out during past shutdowns under Democratic and Republican administrations, SNAP benefits have always been provided using available funding sources and that contingency funds could be used for SNAP benefits during a shutdown.
Leading up to this decision, congressional Democrats argued the administration has the capacity to keep the program going.
“Despite having billions of dollars in emergency funding ready and available to pay for SNAP, the Trump administration is refusing to use those resources,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D- NY) on Thursday.
It’s unclear how the two judges’ rulings will impact the program or how quickly beneficiaries’ debit cards will be loaded after the ruling. The judges asked for updates on progress by Monday.
