‘Breaking the law’: Governor Wes Moore slams Trump’s ‘temper trantrums’ over SNAP legal fight

“I’m also not going to wait or hold my breath for the Trump-Vance administration to find religion about why food should not be used as a weapon,” Moore told theGrio.

Despite the historic 42-day government shutdown seemingly nearing an end, President Donald Trump continues to push back against a court order to fully fund SNAP for November, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Trump administration took things further when the U.S. Department of Agriculture demanded that states “undo” attempts to fully disperse SNAP food assistance to enrollees amid the ongoing legal fight — or face fiscal retaliation.

Governor Wes Moore, whose state of Maryland is among the 25 states challenging Trump’s partial funding of SNAP, moved to provide $62 million in emergency relief funding for nearly 700,000 SNAP recipients in Maryland using state funding. Moore explained that the funds are derived from tax revenues generated through capital gains in the state’s Fiscal Discipline Fund.

During a recent interview with theGrio, Gov. Moore said he had to step up even as the Trump administration refuses to “stop breaking the law.”

Maryland’s first Black governor said the federal government had a legal obligation to fund SNAP. Still, given the Trump administration’s latest appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to withhold funding, he said, “I’m going to not wait for the President of the United States to stop doing these temper tantrums inside of courtrooms.”

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration could hold off on issuing full payments for SNAP until Thursday, Nov. 13.

As 42 million Americans, including 11 million Black Americans, face going hungry without full SNAP benefits, Moore said that in Maryland, “We’re not going to allow our people to go without food while we’re waiting for federal judges to determine whether or not Donald Trump’s gonna follow the law.”

However, it’s unclear whether the emergency funding that Moore has unleashed will be enough to make families whole while the Trump administration navigates the court system and Congress works to reopen the federal government.

“I’ve been clear that we are going to, for as long as we can, ensure that our people are not gonna be left behind by the actions of the federal government…it’s a pledge that I made to the people of the state of Maryland,” said Moore.

He told theGrio, “I’m also not going to wait or hold my breath for the Trump-Vance administration to find religion about why food should not be used as a weapon.”