On October 1, the government shutdown began, eventually leading to the shutdown of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. SNAP is a federal program funded by the Farm Bill and is administered to qualifying residents by the states. This program provides low-income families with food benefits to assist with paying for food costs, thus reducing food insecurity. This program costs $8 billion monthly, but on October 24, as the shutdown continued, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would not use leftover emergency funds ($5 billion) to cover SNAP in November, affecting 42 million low-income Americans.
On October 31, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered the Trump administration to use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits. Judge McConnell noted, “there is no doubt, and it is beyond argument, that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn’t already occurred in the terror it has caused some people about the availability of funding for food for their family.” The following day, in a written version of the previous ruling, Judge McConnell additionally ordered the government to make full SNAP payments by November 3, or partial payments by November 5.
Following this ruling and following several states suing the Trump administration over the suspension of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, on November 3, the administration announced that SNAP benefits would resume, but warned that recipients would receive only half of the normal amount and may encounter delays taking “a few weeks to up to several months.” In response, on social media, President Trump threatened to defy the court order to resume funding, but in response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified, “the administration is fully complying with the court order. I just spoke to the president about it. The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take time to receive this money because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position.”
On November 6, Judge McConnell ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits by November 7 and criticized the administration for not complying with the original orders. In response, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said they intended to appeal Judge McConnell’s orders.
On November 7, the Trump administration was denied its request for an administrative stay to pause Judge McConnell’s order to fully fund SNAP benefits. As a result, the administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused Judge McConnell’s ruling, stating “the pause will remain in effect until the first U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issues a judgment on the matter.”
As the courts contradicted each other, some states had already begun to pay out SNAP benefits to recipients, adding to the confusion and uncertainty surrounding SNAP. In response, an official from the USDA declared in a memorandum that “States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.” This memorandum warned that if states did not comply, there would be financial consequences.
On November 10, the Trump administration returned to the Supreme Court to freeze full payments towards SNAP while the government is shut down.
Amidst the legal battles surrounding SNAP payments, food banks have been seeing an increase in demand. Recently, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) provided $900,000 to support New Jersey’s six emergency feeding organizations, highlighting the effort to combat food insecurity during the shutdown.
At this time, the future of SNAP benefits remains uncertain. On November 10, the Senate approved a funding package that would end the government shutdown and extend government funding through January 30, 2026. On November 12, President Trump signed the funding bill to reopen the government but it is still unclear when SNAP benefits will be restored, which could vary from state to state. For everyone in the Hoboken and Jersey City area, The Hoboken Girl team has compiled a list of local resources for families affected by the changes in SNAP.
