Judicial Decision Looms as Deadline Approaches for Potential SNAP Payment Suspension

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In Boston, two judges are poised to deliver a decision as early as Friday regarding whether the Trump administration must continue providing SNAP food aid benefits for November, amid the ongoing government shutdown.

The verdicts could significantly impact the grocery purchasing power of approximately one in every eight Americans.

Even if a ruling favors maintaining SNAP benefits, the program’s 61-year history could still face delays, as beneficiaries might experience interruptions in the reloading of the debit cards used for grocery purchases. Since this process typically requires one to two weeks, it may already be too late to ensure funds are available on cards at the start of November.

During a Boston hearing on Thursday, a legal challenge brought forth by Democratic officials from 25 states was discussed. One federal judge expressed skepticism about the administration’s claim that SNAP benefits could be suspended.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by former President Obama, indicated to attorneys that if the government cannot fund the benefits, there is a proper protocol to follow rather than abruptly halting all aid. “The steps involve finding an equitable way of reducing benefits,” Talwani stated.

In the event of SNAP benefit suspensions, individuals may need to explore alternative food sources.

“If you don’t have money, you tighten your belt,” she said in court. “You are not going to make everyone drop dead because it’s a political game someplace.”

Government lawyers say a contingency fund containing some $5 billion cannot legally be used to maintain SNAP, a program that costs about $8 billion a month. The states say it must be used for that purpose and point to more money available in a second federal account with around $23 billion.

Talwani said her ruling would apply nationwide, not just in the states that are part of the challenge. That could defy the intentions of the U.S. Supreme Court, which has limited the use of nationwide injunctions, though it hasn’t prohibited them.

A hearing on a second, similar challenge filed by a coalition of cities and nonprofit organizations is scheduled before a Rhode Island-based federal judge for Friday.

Any ruling in either case is likely to face an appeal.

Meanwhile, states, food banks and recipients have been bracing for an abrupt shift in how low-income people can get groceries.

The majority of states have announced more or expedited funding for food banks or novel ways to load at least some benefits onto the debit cards used in the program.

Advocates and beneficiaries say halting the food aid would force people to choose between buying groceries and paying other bills.

At a Washington news conference Friday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, whose department runs SNAP, said the contingency funds in question would not cover the cost of SNAP for long. Speaking at a press conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol, she blamed Democrats for conducting a “disgusting dereliction of duty” by refusing to end their Senate filibuster as they hold out for an extension of health care funds.

A push this week to continue SNAP funding during the shutdown failed in Congress.

To qualify for SNAP in 2025, a family of four’s net income after certain expenses can’t exceed the federal poverty line, which is about $31,000 per year. Last year, SNAP provided assistance to 41 million people, nearly two-thirds of whom were families with children, according to the lawsuit.