The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order requiring it to release full food stamp payments to millions of Americans during the ongoing government shutdown, a move that could delay or cut benefits for the nation’s poorest families.
According to The New York Times, government lawyers filed an emergency motion Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to halt an order issued the previous day by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The judge had directed the administration to use available federal funds to pay the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in full for the month, saying the government should not use hunger “as a political bargaining chip.”
Judge McConnell, The Times reported, found that “ample store[s] of leftover federal money” existed to cover the program’s costs. He criticized the administration’s decision to provide only partial funding, which he said risked leaving millions of families without aid for weeks or months. “This should never happen in America,” the judge said.
The Justice Department responded by arguing that the order “makes a mockery of the separation of powers,” asserting that Congress alone has authority to appropriate spending. The New York Times noted that this position “contrasted sharply with the president’s other moves during the shutdown to reprogram billions of dollars without the approval of Congress, including to pay officials conducting mass deportations.”
If the administration prevails, food assistance for roughly 42 million people — about one in eight Americans — could be delayed or reduced while the political impasse in Washington continues. Some states, including California, Michigan, Oregon, and Wisconsin, have already begun processing full SNAP payments despite the uncertainty.
The New York Times reported that the federal government still holds “tens of billions of dollars left over” that could sustain the program this month. That includes a $5 billion emergency reserve approved by Congress and another fund at the Agriculture Department made up largely of tariff revenue. Those reserves, together, exceed the amount needed to fund SNAP in full, but the administration has declined to use them, claiming legal constraints.
The dispute has left millions of low-income families uncertain about how they will afford groceries as the shutdown stretches into its sixth week, the longest in U.S. history. Lawsuits brought by cities, religious organizations, and nonprofit groups in Rhode Island and other states are challenging the administration’s refusal to fully fund the program.
While the case moves through the appeals court, many faith-based charities and food pantries are preparing for increased demand. Catholic social teaching emphasizes that care for the poor is a moral duty, and advocates have warned that disruptions to SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, would place a heavy burden on local communities already stretched thin.
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