Overview
- U.S. District Judges Indira Talwani in Boston and John J. McConnell in Providence ruled the government must use contingency funds, with McConnell issuing a temporary restraining order and preserving existing work‑requirement waivers.
- Talwani called the suspension of benefits unlawful and directed the administration to say by Nov. 3 whether it will authorize reduced payments for November or fully fund the program using contingency funds and other available money.
- The USDA had argued it could not legally use roughly $5–5.3 billion in contingency funds, but both judges rejected that stance, and plaintiffs also pointed to a separate fund of about $23 billion as potentially available.
- Even with the rulings, benefit reloading could be delayed because states and the USDA need time to implement changes and appeals are expected.
- SNAP supports roughly 41–42 million people and typically costs about $8–9 billion per month, and the USDA had told states to hold November issuance files as it prepared to freeze payments starting Saturday.