Attorneys general and governors from 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in Boston, seeking to block the Trump administration from suspending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments beginning November 1. The suit argues the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is violating the Food and Nutrition Act by refusing to release $5–6 billion in contingency funds that could partially sustain food benefits during the government shutdown.
The USDA recently updated its website to announce that no benefits would be issued, saying “the well has run dry.” Plaintiffs warn this would mark the first nationwide SNAP suspension in the program’s 60-year history, impacting more than 41 million Americans and nearly 7 million WIC participants.
Democratic officials from states including California, New York, and Virginia have declared emergencies and pledged to provide temporary relief. Meanwhile, 18 Republican attorneys general urged Senate Democrats to pass a “clean” funding bill, accusing them of prolonging the shutdown by demanding extensions to Affordable Care Act subsidies.
The plaintiffs argue ending SNAP would worsen hunger and strain state resources, warning the lapse will “cause deterioration of public health and wellbeing.”
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