Millions of people in the United States will not receive food aid on Saturday because emergency funds were not approved in time.
Workers distribute groceries at the La Colaborativa food pantry, as food assistance benefits, including SNAP payments, will be suspended starting November 1 amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S., October 29, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS
Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island rule that the government must dip into emergency funds to continue SNAP benefits, as millions of low-income Americans face delays in food assistance amid an ongoing shutdown.
Two U.S. federal judges issued orders Friday to block the Trump administration from withholding food aid to millions of Americans during the government shutdown, now more than a month long, ordering the government to use reserve funds to maintain benefits.
The rulings, issued by judges in the northeastern states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, follow lawsuits seeking to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from suspending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, widely known as food stamps, starting Saturday, as reported by the Washington Post.
Both judges ordered the administration to return to court Monday and explain how it plans to enforce the orders.
President Donald Trump wrote on social media Friday evening that he had directed government lawyers to work with the courts to release SNAP funds as quickly as possible, while blaming Democrats for any delays.
“If the Court gives us the appropriate legal instructions, it will be MY HONOR to provide the funding,” Trump wrote on social media, even though in the days leading up to the rulings his administration said it was unable to provide the money.
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Even with the court orders, millions of Americans still won’t receive food assistance Saturday because contingency funds were not approved on time. States and their providers require several days’ notice to distribute benefits to beneficiaries.
But U.S. District Judge John McConnell, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the administration’s refusal to use $5.25 billion in contingency funds for November benefits was unjustified and added that the USDA must distribute the contingency funds “in a timely manner, or as soon as possible, for the November 1 payments to be made.”
SNAP supports low-income Americans earning less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $1,632 per month for one person and $2,215 for two. States administer the program and distribute monthly benefits.
“There is no question and it is indisputable that irreparable harm will begin to occur if the terror that it has caused to some people has not already occurred about the availability of funds to buy food and for their families,” McConnell said.
Denial of benefits based on misreading of law, judge says
In another case in Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, also an Obama appointee, said the Agriculture Department appeared to have misinterpreted the law. She declined to immediately order the release of reserve funds, as requested by 26 Democratic attorneys general and governors – representing more than half of US states – but asked the agency to decide by Monday whether it would approve them.
Talwani said that since the suspension of benefits was based on a “misinterpretation” of the law, the court would allow officials to determine whether to authorize at least reduced SNAP payments for November.
Although some delays were expected because payments could not be processed on time, anti-hunger advocates and Democrats welcomed the decisions, saying they should still provide aid to millions of people receiving SNAP.
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the Agriculture Department has “no excuse to deny food aid,” calling any refusal a “cruel political decision” and calling for swift action to ensure families receive support.
