On Thursday, a federal judge mandated that the Trump administration disburse complete Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments for November, despite the ongoing government shutdown. This decision comes after a contentious plan proposed by the administration to issue only partial payments without accessing additional funds.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell, appointed by former President Obama, dismissed this proposal, stating that it did not adhere to a prior directive. “This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided,” McConnell remarked, emphasizing the administration’s failure to ensure compliance.

The Trump administration’s initial strategy involved halting SNAP payments for approximately 42 million Americans due to the unprecedented government shutdown. This move prompted two lawsuits, arguing that these essential benefits must continue uninterrupted.

In a ruling issued last week, Judge McConnell ordered the administration to at least utilize the available $5 billion SNAP contingency fund. However, this amount falls short of the estimated $9 billion required to cover November’s benefits.

The administration faced the task of either sourcing additional funds to bridge this financial gap or swiftly distributing partial payments. Despite the judge’s directive, officials announced their reluctance to tap into other funds, cautioning that recalculating partial payments might lead to significant delays in some states.

The judge had told the administration it needed to tap other funds to cover the gap or expeditiously get partial payments out. The administration announced it would not tap other funds, but it warned the recalculations for partial benefits could cause weekslong delays in some states. 

“If that continued to be the case then the administration was required under this court’s order to immediately make the full payment for November SNAP benefits considering the finding of irreparable harm that would occur,” McConnell said Thursday. 

The judge’s new order requires the administration to make the full November payments to states by Friday, so they can provide them to households. 

Lawyers for the Justice Department rejected the notion that the administration ran afoul of the judge’s directive. They contended that tapping the additional funds put child nutrition programs at risk. 

“The government reasonably interpreted the order,” Justice Department attorney Tyler Becker said at the hearing. 

But the judge rejected the argument, finding the government’s plan to be arbitrary and capricious. 

“Contrary to the defendants’ argument, 28 million children are not at risk of going hungry should this transfer occur,” McConnell said. 

The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of cities and private organizations, one of two challenges to the administration’s refusal to spend the fund.  

The second, filed by 25 Democratic-led states, is being weighed by a federal judge in Boston. She has sought additional information from the government about how it will use the contingency funds and signaled she intends to side with the states.  

It’s been 37 days since the government shut down — the longest lapse in appropriations in the nation’s history. The Senate is set to vote Friday on a pathway forward, after the House-passed continuing resolution has failed to advance 14 times so far.