On Sunday, November 2nd, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that President Trump hopes to provide “food assistance benefits” to Americans in need. According to a judge’s order, these benefits may be distributed as early as Wednesday, November 5th.
During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” program, Bessent was asked if they could comply with the federal judge’s order to partially pay SNAP benefits starting on Wednesday. His response was, “It is possible.” He also made it clear that the Trump administration would not appeal the court’s decision.
The Federal Court of Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration on November 1st to present a plan for full payment of “food assistance benefits” by Monday, November 3rd, or at least make a partial payment by Wednesday. The court highlighted in its ruling that failing to timely provide these benefits would result in “irreparable harm.”
Judge John J. McConnell of the US District Court for Rhode Island rejected the arguments put forth by the US Department of Agriculture in his October 31st ruling. The Department of Agriculture had previously stated that due to the ongoing government shutdown, they were unable to allocate funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP, also known as “food stamps,” is a vital welfare program for low-income Americans.
During the hearing on October 31st, Judge McConnell remarked that the government’s decision not to utilize $5.25 billion in emergency funds to support November SNAP benefits was arbitrary. He emphasized that the agency must allocate these emergency funds “immediately.” If these funds are insufficient, the agency should also determine if funds from another independent fund of around $23 billion can be utilized.
On October 31st, Trump responded to the situation on the social media platform “Truth Social.” He wrote, “I do not want Americans to go hungry simply because radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to seek clarification from the court on how we can legally provide funding for SNAP benefits as quickly as possible.”
Judge McConnell cited Trump’s statement in his Saturday order and wrote, “The court greatly appreciates the President’s swift and clear response to this court’s order, as well as his desire to provide the necessary SNAP funds.”
SNAP benefits are available to Americans whose income is below 130% of the federal poverty line. In many areas, this means monthly incomes below $1,632 for single-person households and below $2,215 for two-person households. The program is managed daily by individual states, and benefits are distributed monthly to eligible families.
The Department of Agriculture stated that there is currently not enough funding to provide full benefits to 42 million low-income Americans, as the monthly costs for the SNAP program range from $8.5 to $9 billion. The government had previously mentioned a lack of legal authority to access emergency funds to pay benefits before Congress passed spending bills to end the government shutdown that began on October 1st.
The Rhode Island case is one of two lawsuits filed to prevent the Department of Agriculture from suspending SNAP benefits. In another lawsuit filed by 25 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia, Judge Indira Talwani of the US District Court in Boston made a similar ruling on October 31st.