Policy Updates: Judges order USDA to release SNAP funds during shutdown, blocking benefit cutoff

Judges order USDA to release SNAP funds during shutdown, blocking benefit cutoff (CNN): Federal judges in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled today that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) must use its available contingency-fund reserves to continue providing SNAP benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown. The USDA had argued it lacked the legal authority and sufficient appropriations to tap into the roughly $5 billion contingency fund, claiming it could not maintain benefits absent a full yearly appropriation.

The judges rejected that interpretation, finding that halting SNAP benefits to roughly 42 million Americans would cause irreparable harm and that the contingency funds were intended for program operations under such conditions. In Rhode Island, Judge John J. McConnell ordered the USDA to distribute the funds “timely” for November payments. In Massachusetts, Judge Indira Talwani ruled the USDA’s stance was “likely unlawful” and required the agency to decide by Monday whether to release at least partial benefits. The rulings avert what would have been the first cut-off of SNAP benefits during a shutdown in U.S. history, though questions remain about processing delays and the logistics of getting benefits back out.