The White House said Tuesday it will move forward with partial funding for SNAP during the ongoing government shutdown, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to withhold the aid unless Democrats agreed to reopen the government.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the administration will “fully comply” with a federal court order requiring it to keep some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits flowing.
“We’re getting that partial payment out the door as much as we can and as quickly as we can,” Leavitt said.
SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, provides aid to nearly 42 million Americans, with an average household benefit of about $350 per month.
Trump’s Threat Sparks Confusion
Earlier Tuesday, Trump appeared to reverse course in a Truth Social post, declaring that SNAP benefits “will be given only when those Radical Left Democrats open up the government, which they can easily do, and not before!”
The post prompted alarm from anti-hunger advocates and legal groups that have sued the administration to keep food aid flowing.
“This is immoral. See you in court,” wrote Skye Perryman, CEO of the nonprofit Democracy Forward, which is part of a coalition suing the administration.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP, said it would use a $5 billion contingency fund to provide partial benefits into November. The agency issued guidance Tuesday to states explaining how to distribute reduced payments.
Varying Benefit Amounts
According to the USDA, not all recipients will receive exactly half of their usual benefits.
Households receiving the maximum monthly allotment — $994 for a family of four in most states — will receive half that amount. Those receiving the minimum monthly benefit will get $12 instead of $24.
Recipients between those levels will receive varying amounts based on household size and income, said Stacy Dean, who led the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service under the Biden administration.
States will recalculate benefits using reduced maximum allotment tables provided by USDA, a move officials say will speed up payments compared with cutting everyone’s benefits by a flat percentage.
Legal Battle Over Full Benefits
A federal judge in Rhode Island has scheduled a Thursday hearing to consider new legal action seeking to force the Trump administration to restore full SNAP benefits for November.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell previously ordered the government to use available contingency funds to continue the program. After USDA notified him Monday that only partial payments would be made, plaintiffs asked the court to intervene again.
The coalition’s lawyers cited Trump’s social media post as evidence that the administration is “withholding SNAP benefits for partisan political gain.”
They also urged the court to require the administration to tap unused tariff funds earmarked for child nutrition programs to fund SNAP in full.
But the USDA argued in its filing that redirecting those funds could jeopardize free and reduced-price school meals for 29 million children nationwide. The agency said it has already transferred $750 million in tariff revenue to support the WIC program, which assists pregnant women, new mothers and young children.
Court Order and Next Steps
The White House said it will comply with the existing court order but stopped short of committing to fully fund November benefits.
“If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will be my honor to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay,” Trump wrote Friday.
The administration has said the contingency fund will only sustain partial benefits through November, leaving uncertainty about how families will afford groceries if the shutdown continues.
Thursday’s hearing before Judge McConnell is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
