Overview
- U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island ordered the administration to provide states the full amount of November SNAP benefits by Friday, citing irreparable harm if aid is delayed.
- The administration filed an appeal after proposing reduced payouts, creating uncertainty over whether full benefits will be delivered by the court’s deadline.
- USDA had shifted its plan from roughly 50% to 65% of normal benefits, but states warned the complex recalculations would take days to weeks on legacy systems, with Pennsylvania estimating about 10,000 hours of work plus additional time to issue payments.
- Contingency funds identified by USDA total about $4.65 billion after set‑asides, far short of the roughly $8–$9 billion needed for a full month, as legal fights continue over whether other sources can be tapped.
- Food banks and local officials report surging demand and have deployed emergency funds, but they say charitable and state efforts cannot substitute for the scale of monthly SNAP distributions to about 42 million people.