LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors early Tuesday in filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million Americans buy food, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a “government shutdown.” On October 10, USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the approximately 42 million individuals across the country that rely on them.
Despite USDA’s claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this very purpose. USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown but has decided that come November 1 it will not use the billions of dollars in contingency funds for SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food.
“Emergency funding exists for exactly this kind of crisis,” said Nessel. “If the reality of 42 million Americans going hungry, including 1.4 million Michiganders, isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is. It is cruel, inhumane, and illegal to hold back emergency reserves while families struggle to put food on the table. I want to be clear: this is a choice the Trump Administration is making, but I will continue doing everything in my power to ensure the federal government does not turn its back on the people it is meant to serve.”
Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity. Nearly 13% of Michigan households, or approximately 1.4 million people, receive SNAP benefits. About 43% of those are families with children, and 36% are families with members who are older adults or disabled. In addition, approximately 40,000 veterans receive SNAP benefits in Michigan.
SNAP participants should reach out to their local Michigan Department of Health & Human Services office with any questions regarding their SNAP benefits or check MI Bridges for updates. For additional resources, residents can Dial 2-1-1 or visit Find Help – Michigan 2-1-1 for free, confidential assistance and referrals to local food programs and support services. Michiganders can also visit the Food Bank Council of Michigan to locate nearby food banks and learn about additional hunger relief efforts.
Attorney General Nessel will host a press conference on Wednesday in Lansing on the lawsuit and will visit food banks throughout the State this week.
Joining Nessel in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined.
