A federal judge has blocked the Trump Administration from suspending SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, merely a day before food stamp benefits for 42 million Americans were slated to be discontinued.
Moments before U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell announced his decision, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a distinct ruling that likewise deemed the program’s suspension “unlawful” and instructed the Administration to clarify its method for continuing to fund it.
Consequently, the Administration must disburse at least a portion of the benefits scheduled for Saturday. However, when recipients will receive these funds—and the exact amount—is still uncertain. Here is important information.
What did the judges rule?
The Justice Department contended that, due to the shutdown, no congressionally allocated funds remained for SNAP, asserting that it was the Administration’s discretion whether to draw from a $6 billion contingency fund to maintain the program’s funding.
However, McConnell, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, directed the Administration to access that fund “timely or as soon as possible” to provide at least a portion of the SNAP benefits slated for November 1st.
Talwani, from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, delivered a comparable judgment in a distinct case concerning the impending suspension just moments prior, decreeing that the Administration was obligated to utilize contingency funds to issue partial SNAP benefits.
Talwani granted the Administration until Monday to present an explanation detailing how it intends to provide SNAP benefits for November: either partially, using the contingency funds, or entirely, drawing from both those funds and other sources.
“Congress has allocated money to an emergency fund,” Talwani stated during a Thursday hearing. “It is difficult for me to comprehend how this situation is not an emergency, given that there is no money and numerous individuals require their SNAP benefits.”
Will benefits still be delayed?
While both judges mandated that the Trump Administration must disburse next month’s SNAP benefits at least partially, the timing of when millions relying on these benefits will receive their payments, if at all, remains uncertain.
The Administration had previously stated that it might take several weeks to deliver November payments to millions of Americans, and that these payments might be half the usual allocation. The process of reloading debit cards utilized by program beneficiaries often requires one to two weeks, according to reports.
Benefits might also experience additional delays should the Justice Department appeal the rulings, a course of action it is expected to take, despite no appeals having been filed to date.