A federal choose has ordered the Trump administration to make a fee to totally fund the Supplemental Diet Help Program for the month of November by tomorrow.
“Individuals have gone with out for too lengthy, not making funds to them for even one other day is just unacceptable,” mentioned U.S. District Decide John J. McConnell Jr.
Decide McConnell straight rebuked President Donald Trump for stating “his intent to defy” a court docket order by saying earlier this week that SNAP won’t be funded till the federal government reopens from the continued authorities shutdown.
“The truth is, the day earlier than the compliance was ordered, the president acknowledged his intent to defy the court docket order when he mentioned, ‘SNAP funds can be given solely when the federal government opens,'” the choose mentioned.
McConnell, following an emergency listening to final Friday, ordered the federal government to make use of emergency funds to pay for SNAP in time for the Nov. 1 funds to be made — however the administration dedicated to solely partially funding this system, saying they needed to save the extra funds for little one vitamin applications.
Decide McConnell, in Thursday’s order, criticized the Trump administration for less than making a partial fee when it had extra emergency funds and knew the funds wouldn’t be delivered in time to conform along with his court docket order.
“With out SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million youngsters are instantly susceptible to going hungry,” mentioned Decide McConnell. “Kids are instantly susceptible to going hungry. This could by no means occur in America.”
President Donald Trump speaks to the America Enterprise Discussion board Miami, Nov. 5, 2025, in Miami.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
After the Trump administration earlier this week dedicated to paying out 65% of the everyday SNAP quantity by tapping into emergency funds, a gaggle of nonprofits and native governments argued that partially funding SNAP was inadequate to adjust to the McConnell’s order.
“Given Congress’s failure to acceptable adequate funds for November SNAP advantages and USDA’s adherence to each the statute and its personal rules relating to partial advantages, it can’t be arbitrary and capricious for USDA to say no to raid a wholly totally different program, to the tune of billions of {dollars}, within the mere hope that Congress will repair the following deficit by way of the final appropriations course of,” DOJ attorneys responded in a court docket submitting Wednesday.
In his order Thursday, Decide McConnell mentioned, “The federal government had an obligation in following the order to make the complete fee so that folks in every single place all through the nation would get their SNAP advantages instantly. We have now gone six days with out wanted meals to the 42 million, 16 million youngsters. Irreparable hurt. That is what the court docket’s non permanent restraining order tried to resolve.”
McConnell initially gave the Trump administration a selection between making a full fee by Monday or a partial fee by Wednesday, saying the federal government was required to “expeditiously remove” any potential delays to ensure SNAP advantages would proceed. As a result of they failed to take action — acknowledging in their very own court docket papers that the funds might take weeks or months — the Trump administration didn’t adjust to the court docket’s non permanent restraining order, the choose dominated.
“It’s clear to the court docket that the administration didn’t comply with this Courtroom’s oral order of 10/31/25, or its written order of November 1, 2025,” mentioned McConnell. “The court docket was clear that the administration needed to both make the complete fee by this previous Monday, or it should ‘expeditiously resolve the executive and clerical burdens’ it described in its papers, however certainly not shall the partial funds be made later than Wednesday, November 5, 2025. The document is obvious that the administration did neither.”
Decide McConnell additionally straight criticized Trump for declaring a “intent to defy” the court docket’s order by stating that SNAP funds wouldn’t be funded till the federal government reopens.
A Justice Division lawyer argued that any delay in funds must be blamed on the states that administer applications, not the federal authorities, which he mentioned accomplished a partial fee.
“Your Honor, the federal government complied with the court docket’s order,” mentioned DOJ lawyer Tyler Becker. “We acknowledged on Monday night time, once we filed with the court docket, that … we resolved all the burdens that the federal government is chargeable for below the rules and below the statute.”
Kristin Bateman, an legal professional for the plaintiffs, argued that the Trump administration was intentionally flouting the court docket’s order to achieve political leverage. Whereas the Trump administration argued it was reserving extra emergency funds for little one vitamin applications, she known as the declare “facially implausible” as a result of the federal government has sufficient cash to pay for little one vitamin applications by way of June.
“[They] haven’t defined why they’d select to let 42 million Individuals, together with 16 million youngsters, go hungry now, so as to guard in opposition to the intense outdoors probability that come June, there will not be sufficient cash to fund little one vitamin applications,” she mentioned. “What defendants are actually making an attempt to do is to leverage individuals’s starvation to achieve partisan political benefit within the shutdown combat,” she mentioned.
McConnell appeared to agree, rebuking administration officers and Trump himself for “withholding SNAP advantages for political causes.”
He mentioned statements by Trump and different high officers “who admit to withholding full SNAP advantages for political causes” straight undermine the argument that the federal government was saving emergency funds to pay for little one vitamin applications.
McConnell mentioned the federal government’s argument that it didn’t wish to faucet into emergency funds so as to shield little one vitamin applications was implausible, and accused the Trump administration of ” erroneously and deliberately” conflating the funding. He highlighted that the kid vitamin applications are presently funded by way of a minimum of Might, whereas SNAP has already run out of cash.
“Opposite to the defendant’s argument, 29 million youngsters are usually not susceptible to going hungry,” he mentioned. “Transferring roughly $4 billion to totally fund November SNAP advantages would nonetheless go away $19.35 billion in Part 32 funds, sufficient to totally fund little one vitamin applications by way of Might and past.”
The choose McConnell faulted the Trump administration for doing “nothing” to alleviate the delays related to a partial fee.
“USDA can’t now cry that it can’t get well timed funds to beneficiaries for weeks or months as a result of states are usually not ready to make partial funds,” he mentioned, referring t. the U.S. Division of Agriculture, which operates SNAP. “USDA arbitrarily and capriciously created this drawback by ignoring the congressional mandate for contingency funds and failing to well timed notify the states.”
The choose mentioned the Trump administration was inflicting “irreparable hurt” by not making certain that tens of millions of Individuals get essential help.
“To be clear, irreparable hurt means hurt to households, aged, youngsters and others that can not be undone. The proof exhibits that folks will go hungry, meals pantries can be overburdened, and useless struggling will happen,” he mentioned.
Decide McConnell turned one of many first federal district court docket judges in Trump’s second time period to dam a Trump government motion when earlier this 12 months he issued an injunction in opposition to an Workplace of Administration and Funds memo ordering an across-the-board freeze on all authorities spending. The memo was later rescinded by the administration.
McConnell, in uncommon public remarks for a federal choose, mentioned not too long ago that he has had six credible dying threats directed at him within the wake of that episode.
