Government Says It Will Only Pay SNAP Recipients Half Their Benefits For November, Defying Judges’ Orders

Last week, not one, but two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to use the government’s contingency funds to continue the funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) amid the ongoing government shutdown, ruling against the White House’s previous claim that those funds couldn’t be used for SNAP. Days later, the administration that hates poor people and loves convincing other poor people to hate poor people revealed its plan to send partial payments this month to the roughly 42 million Americans who receive food stamps, brazenly defying the judges’ rulings.

From the New York Times:

But the roughly one in eight families that receive SNAP may still be at risk of imminent hunger and financial hardship. The Trump administration opted against using its full stable of available funds — totaling into the billions of dollars — to sustain the nation’s largest anti-hunger program in full this month. As a result, eligible households may receive only half as much in benefits compared with their usual amounts, officials said.

It also remained unclear when food stamp recipients would actually receive their aid. The Trump administration had previously warned that it could take weeks to provision benefits on a partial basis, further underscoring the consequences of its budgetary decision on Monday.

So, basically, two separate judges ruled that the federal government must keep paying SNAP recipients their full benefits, and here’s live footage of how the government responded.

In fact, according to a sworn statement from a US Department of Agriculture official that was submitted in federal court, $4.65 billion of the contingency fund will “be obligated to cover 50% of eligible households’ current allotments” for November, which means SNAP recipients will only receive half of what they are owed.

Not only that, but USDA official Patrick Penn told CNN that because partial payments will require states to reprogram their systems to adjust for the reduced allotments, SNAP recipients in some states may not see their November benefits for weeks or even months.

“Given the variation among state systems, some of which are decades old, it is unclear how many States will complete the changes in an automated manner with minimal disruption versus manual overrides or computations that could lead to payment errors and significant delays,” Penn said.

Nah — don’t be out here blaming state systems because the federal government, under President Donald Trump, is so janky and ghetto that it’s about to owe its citizens back payments for food assistance.

Actually, CNN noted that “states stopped the process of issuing benefits for November after the USDA sent them a letter on October 10 ordering them to do so” because “it does not have the funds to pay November’s assistance amid the federal government shutdown, which began October 1.”

So, states had already stopped the payments, but then two judges ordered the government to proceed with those payments in full, and now the government is essentially telling those states, “Here’s half, and you can tell your lower-income people that now is a good time to take up fasting.”

It’s no wonder the Trump administration has been so desperate to blame the shutdown on Democrats. This is just a shameful, embarrassing way to run a government. While Republican officials and right-wing media are doing their best to demonize people who lack food security, the MAGA-fied government seems to be content with letting them starve.

Sad.

SEE ALSO:

What Happens If SNAP Stops? What You Should Know And Do To Protect Yourself

Judges Rule Trump Administration Must Continue To Fund SNAP

25 States Sue Trump Administration Over SNAP Benefits

Restaurants In Several Major Cities Offering Free Food To People Losing SNAP

Racist Newsmax Host Says SNAP Recipients Use Benefits To ‘Get Their Weaves’ And Nails Done

If SNAP Benefits Get Cut Off, White Grievance Will Eat Itself

When The Government Starves Us: How SNAP Cuts Target Black Survival