A federal judge yesterday ordered the Trump Gatsby administration to pay full SNAP benefits for November by today, rejecting the administration’s plan to partially fund that food stamp program for 42 million Americans during the U.S. government shutdown. Via CNBC:
“People have gone without for too long,” Judge Jack McConnell said during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island as he issued the order requiring the administration to tap funding sources it ruled as being out of bounds earlier this week.
“The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened, and needless suffering will occur” if SNAP is not fully funded, McConnell said. “That’s what irreparable harm here means. Last weekend, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time in our nation’s history,” the judge said. “This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided.”
The order came after plaintiffs in the case urged him to reject the administration’s proposed plan for partial benefits. The Trump administration last week had said it would not use a congressionally authorized contingency fund containing $4.65 billion to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in November. The total cost of full SNAP benefits for the month is around $8 billion.
