Two US Judges Shock Trump Administration, Order Emergency Funds Be Used For Food Aid Amid Ongoing Shutdown

According to CNN, in November, during a prolonged government shutdown that had stalled many government programs, two federal judges in the U.S. ordered the Trump administration to use billions of dollars in emergency funds to partially shore up food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans. 

The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island rejected an argument from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) saying it could not access a contingency fund, which now has about 5.3 billion U.S. dollars, to sustain SNAP funding.

This program costs 8 to 9 billion dollars a month to feed the low-income households, so the available contingency fund would only partially meet SNAP needs in November. 

“There is no doubt that the contingency funds are appropriated funds necessary to carry out the program’s operation,” said U.S. District Judge John McConnell in R.I. “The shutdown of the government through funding doesn’t do away with SNAP, it just does away with the funding of it,” he added during the hearing. 

Judge Talwani from Boston echoed that an order was made just minutes earlier, allowing USDA, in addition, to draw down another USD 17 billion to meet SNAP payments. However, the Trump administration has resisted drawing from that pool, for it maintains child nutrition programs, CNN revealed.

The ruling by the court now imposes a condition upon defendants, requiring them to harness the contingency funds where necessary in the SNAP program, outlined Talwani in a 15-page order. The funds cannot cover the whole cost of SNAP for November, while defendants may fill the shortage by authorizing a transfer of any additional funds to avert any cuts, she said.

Officials cautioned that, notwithstanding the rulings, millions of beneficiaries might see delays as the Department of Agriculture and state agencies need time to process and distribute the payments, which were initially scheduled to start on November 1. When questioned on the matter, President Donald Trump suggested that the government might find ways to continue funding critical food aid.

Trump replied, “Well, there always is” concerning possible funding for SNAP and urged the Democrats to accept reopening the government, CNN reported. “But all the Democrats have to do is say, let’s go. I mean, they don’t have to do anything — all they have to do is say the government is open,” he said.

The SNAP program, a vital link in the U.S. food security chain, has never failed to distribute benefits in history during a government shutdown, although the strain was felt in 2018-2019.

 The Rhode Island case was filed by a coalition of cities, NGOs, unions, and small business interests in response to a Boston suit brought by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general and governors from 25 states and Washington, D.C.

As the shutdown approaches one month, more and more courts across the country are weighing in on the implications of the shutdown. Earlier this week, a California federal trial judge ordered the administration not to proceed with laying off thousands of federal workers, noting the government could not justify this action under the cover of the shutdown. U.S.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told CNN that the agency was “looking at all options” under the court order while also considering an appeal against the administration.”

All Inputs From ANI. 

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