A federal judge on Friday directed the Trump administration to pay out some November food stamp benefits using contingency funds, rejecting the claim that the government shutdown has effectively shuttered the program.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell, an Obama appointee in Rhode Island, said Congress allocated billions of dollars to a contingency reserve that can be used to pay at least some benefits, The Washington Times reported.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee in Massachusetts, also ruled that the contingency funds should be used to pay some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, while giving the government until Monday to detail its plans.
“Defendants erred in concluding that USDA is statutorily prohibited from using the contingency reserve to fund SNAP benefits during the pendency of the lapse in appropriations,” Talwani wrote.
The decisions could blunt one of the harshest consequences of the shutdown, which on Friday marked the end of a full month.
About 42 million people receive SNAP benefits, a program administered by the Agriculture Department.
Funding for many government functions has expired, furloughing workers in non-essential roles, and employees still on the job have not been paid since September.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said the rulings exposed what he called the administration’s “weaponizing hunger.”
“We’re thankful for these rulings,” Jeffries said on CNN. “Funds do exist within the administration for exactly this reason — a contingency fund to make sure that no one in America … ever goes hungry.”
At issue is whether a roughly $6 billion contingency fund, available through Sept. 30, 2026, can be tapped to pay benefits even during a shutdown.
The Office of Management and Budget has already used $750 million from the reserve, leaving more than $5 billion available.
The Agriculture Department argued the money might exist, but SNAP does not, and without an active appropriation the agency cannot access the funds.
“It’s called a contingency fund, and by law, [the] contingency fund can only flow when the underlying fund is flowing,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday.
The administration also said the reserve is insufficient to cover a full month of benefits and that the executive branch cannot unilaterally impose a cut.
Talwani said SNAP is structured in statute as a mandatory benefit and that the existence of the reserve obligates the government to use it.
She wrote that the law allows reduced-rate payments and permits transfers from other accounts to keep SNAP operating.
Ruling from the bench, McConnell said SNAP itself has not been repealed and that the program’s lack of a current appropriation is precisely why the contingency fund exists.
“It’s clear that when compared to the millions of people that will go without funds for food versus the agency’s desire not to use contingency funds in case there’s a hurricane need, the balances of those equities clearly goes on the side of ensuring that people are fed,” he said, according to NBC News.
The House has passed a bill to reopen the government at prior spending levels, but Senate Democrats have filibustered it and have not secured votes for their own approach.
Democrats say any reopening must include legislation extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and addressing Medicaid eligibility changes made in the Republicans’ July budget law.
The administration said it is reviewing the rulings and working with states on timing, while maintaining that Congress must act to fully fund SNAP for November and beyond.
