The U.S. Department of Agriculture is being sued by Democrat leaders in 25 states who say the agency is legally required to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) running despite the government shutdown, warning that millions of Americans will lose their food benefits this weekend.
The plaintiffs include attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, who were expected to file their lawsuit Tuesday in Massachusetts district court, reports NBC News.
They contend that the USDA must continue issuing SNAP benefits as long as funding is available and are asking the court to order the agency to use contingency funds that were appropriated by Congress to keep the program operating.
“Millions of Americans are about to go hungry because the federal government has chosen to withhold food assistance it is legally obligated to provide,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the officials on the lawsuit, said in a statement.
“SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools to fight hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running,” she added.
Up to 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps, which are typically distributed at the start of each month.
The USDA has said on its website that it will not allocate new funding while the shutdown continues, meaning benefits will stop Nov. 1 in an unprecedented situation in the program’s 60-year history.
The states argue that by not using contingency funds, the USDA is violating the Food and Nutrition Act, which protects access to food assistance, and acting “arbitrarily and capriciously” in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order requiring the agency to continue benefits through November.
A USDA spokesperson, responding to questions about the lawsuit, commented, “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats [who] continue to hold out for the far-left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.”
October SNAP benefits were funded before the shutdown began, allowing operations to continue temporarily.
The agency’s website blames Senate Democrats for the lapse, stating, “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program. Bottom line, the well has run dry.”
“At this time, there will be no benefits issued on November 01,” according to the statement.
Before the shutdown, the USDA said in a planning document that it could rely on multiyear contingency funds to maintain benefits, but that document has since been removed from the agency’s website.
The department has since told state SNAP directors that it lacks the funding to pay full benefits in November if the shutdown persists.
In a follow-up memo, the USDA said contingency funds “are not legally available to cover regular benefits,” explaining they are reserved for emergencies such as natural disasters.
Diverting money from other programs, the agency said, would reduce funding for school meals and infant formula.
The shutdown has also put at risk the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides free food and formula to low-income mothers and children under 5.
Like SNAP, WIC could face a funding shortfall if the shutdown continues into November.
Ten Republican senators have joined Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., in backing legislation to keep SNAP funded as the government shutdown threatens to halt food benefits for millions of Americans in November.
The measure, called the Keep SNAP Funded Act of 2025, would ensure the food aid program continues operating nationwide until the shutdown ends, and the Department of Agriculture receives funding through regular appropriations or a temporary spending bill.
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