Overview
- Photos from the Oct. 31 event show President Trump seated with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago, where the official theme was billed as “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.”
- Hours earlier, federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts directed the administration to use contingency funds — roughly $5.0–$5.25 billion — to keep SNAP operating during the shutdown.
- U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered USDA to deploy emergency money and report back by noon Nov. 3, while Judge Indira Talwani said the suspension of funding is likely unlawful and set a Monday decision point.
- USDA warned that SNAP funding would run out Nov. 1 for roughly 41.7–42 million people, leaving the timing and level of any resumed payments uncertain as litigation and implementation proceed.
- Trump said on social media he would provide funding with “appropriate legal direction,” as Democrats blasted the party’s optics and the White House argued Congress could end the shutdown by passing a funding bill.