Overview
- Federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts directed the administration to use contingency funds to keep SNAP operating and required an update by Monday on how it will comply.
- The Rhode Island order called for distributing at least $5.25 billion “as soon as possible” and said USDA should assess whether a separate roughly $23 billion account can lawfully be tapped.
- USDA said November funding had run dry and argued legal limits barred using certain reserves, noting SNAP’s monthly need of about $8–9 billion exceeds the main contingency pool.
- President Donald Trump said government lawyers are seeking court guidance and that he would provide funding if directed, while cautioning that payments will be delayed as states process funds.
- Officials and advocates warn EBT reloading typically takes one to two weeks and that states and food banks are deploying stopgaps that cannot match SNAP’s scale for the 42 million people who rely on it.