Trump admin moves to block full SNAP payments

The Trump administration has appealed to a federal appeals court for an emergency stay of a judge’s order directing it to provide full SNAP

sarah

Nov 7, 2025 - 21:52

Trump admin moves to block full SNAP payments

The administration asked the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to allow it to pay 65% of the food stamp benefits this month from contingency funds, as the administration had proposed to the judge earlier this week.

The request came a day after U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell in Rhode Island rejected the partial payment option.

McConnell ordered the administration to use so-called Section 32 funds to help fully fund the SNAP benefits, in addition to the $4.65 billion it was already planning to use from a contingency fund approved by Congress. The administration had previously rejected the idea of using Section 32 funds for this purpose.

The appeals court asked the plaintiffs in the case to respond by noon (ET) Friday to the administration’s motion for an emergency stay of McConnell’s order.

The administration said last week that it planned to completely halt payments to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries in November because Congress had not yet approved funding for it.

The U.S. government has been shut down since October 1 because Congress failed to agree on a bill that would temporarily fund federal programs, including SNAP.

Previous administrations had continued paying SNAP benefits during other shutdowns. A coalition of cities, charitable and religious non-profit groups, unions, and business organizations sued the Trump administration, asking McConnell to order officials to pay the full SNAP benefits. On October 31, McConnell ordered the administration to pay at least partial benefits from the contingency fund as soon as possible and to investigate whether other funds could be used to help pay the full benefits.

The administration told McConnell on Monday that it would pay 50% of the November SNAP benefits using the contingency money, but said it would not use other funds. On Wednesday, the administration told the judge that a review of the available contingency funds meant that 65% of the benefits could be paid.

The plaintiffs in the case said this was unacceptable and asked McConnell to order the payment of the full benefits. McConnell agreed, telling the administration's lawyers at a hearing on Thursday, "People have been suffering for far too long." The judge said, "The evidence shows that if SNAP is not fully funded, people will go hungry, food pantries will be overwhelmed, and there will be unnecessary hardship."

McConnell later wrote in a written order, "While the President of the United States promises to help those he serves, the actions of the government tell a different story."