In a stunning escalation of the standoff over federal food aid, President Donald Trump announced that he will refuse to comply with a federal court order requiring his administration to release emergency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), potentially cutting off food benefits to millions of Americans.
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The defiance follows a ruling from U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island, who last week ordered the Trump administration to unlock billions in emergency USDA funds to keep SNAP operational amid the ongoing government shutdown. The judge’s decision was hailed as a lifeline for one in eight Americans who rely on the program, but the White House’s latest reversal now threatens to plunge those families back into crisis.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration had pledged to partially fund SNAP with a $4.65 billion payment, drawn from emergency reserves. A senior USDA official told a federal judge in a sworn filing Monday that the disbursement could take “a few weeks to up to several months” to process — a timeline that already risked leaving millions of Americans without food assistance.
Now, that promise appears to have evaporated. Trump declared that he would not payout SNAP benefits, signaling that his administration will not release the funds as ordered. The move effectively blocks distribution of aid to millions of low-income households, seniors, and children across the country.
The administration also previously admitted it is $4 billion short of the roughly $8 billion needed to fully fund SNAP through November, citing its refusal to draw on an additional emergency account controlled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That decision, Judge McConnell ruled, violated the government’s duty to use all available resources to protect public welfare during the shutdown.
Judge McConnell’s order temporarily halted the administration’s effort to freeze the program entirely, calling SNAP “a vital safeguard for millions of Americans facing food insecurity.”
In addition, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a related opinion sharply rebuking the administration’s inaction. While she stopped short of ordering immediate payments, Talwani found that the government’s refusal to use contingency funds was likely unlawful.
“It’s hard for me to understand that this is not an emergency,” Judge Talwani said from the bench. “When there is no money and a lot of people are needing their SNAP benefits, the government must act lawfully and equitably.” She ordered the USDA to clarify by Monday whether it intends to comply.
The SNAP controversy marks another flashpoint in the broader government shutdown battle. The Trump administration’s resistance to judicial oversight and its refusal to deploy available emergency resources could have immediate and devastating consequences for millions of Americans who rely on federal nutrition assistance to put food on the table.
While the courts have reaffirmed the legality and necessity of using emergency funds, Trump’s refusal to follow those orders leaves the nation’s largest anti-hunger program in jeopardy — and deepens a constitutional confrontation over executive power and accountability.