OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:33 AM – Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Dozens of Democrat-run states have sued the Trump administration for refusing to utilize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) contingency funds to issue food benefits during the government shutdown.
As funding for SNAP runs dry due to the government shutdown, the lawsuit argues that the Trump administration is mandated by law to utilize the roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to cover a portion of the $9.2 billion in SNAP benefits allocated for November.
SNAP is a low-income food assistance program that assists roughly 42 million low-income Americans with purchasing groceries.
“The contingency funding that we set aside for SNAP is not optional spending. It is required by the law,” stated Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
“We appropriated that money for this purpose. The White House must spend it,” she continued. “And what they are doing right now, blocking these funds from going out, is illegal.”
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The Trump administration previously announced that it would not allocate the contingency funds to cover the lapse in SNAP funding, explaining that the funds are intended to be utilized in response to unforeseen events such as natural disasters.
“The contingency fund is a source of funds for contingencies, such as the Disaster SNAP program, which provides food purchasing benefits for individuals in disaster areas, including natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, that can come on quickly and without notice,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wrote in a memo.
On the USDA’s official website, it explicitly blames the Democrats for the lapse in funding, stating, “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).”
“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
The Lawsuit was filed by governors and attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
In the lawsuit, Democrat leaders argued that “Shutting off SNAP benefits will cause deterioration of public health and well-being.”
“Ultimately, states will bear costs associated with many of these harms,” the suit continued. “The loss of SNAP benefits leads to food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition, which are associated with numerous negative health outcomes in children, such as poor concentration, decreased cognitive function, fatigue, depression, and behavioral problems.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was asked by reporters on Wednesday about the lapse in SNAP funding, to which the president vowed to fix, stating: “We’re going to get it done.”
“The Democrats have caused the problem, unfortunately. All they have to do is sign, and if they sign, I’ll meet with them.”
President Trump went on to address healthcare, the key issue Democrats want Republicans to negotiate in the spending bill to reopen the government.
“We have to fix healthcare because Obamacare is a disaster,” Trump stated. “When you see the increases in Obamacare, it never worked, it never will work, and we could do something with the Democrats much better than Obamacare. Less money and better healthcare.”
President Trump added that the insurance companies are “making too much money.”
“I think it’s a great time for the Republicans and the Democrats to get together and make something that will work,” he said.
The states involved in the suit are asking U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, the federal judge assigned to the case, to order the Trump administration to release the USDA contingency funds in the meantime.
Talwani is slated to hear arguments from both sides during an emergency hearing on Wednesday before deciding on the matter.
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