A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) for November, rejecting the government's plan to provide only partial aid during the ongoing shutdown.
District Judge John J McConnell Jr criticised the administration's failure to comply with a previous order requiring full or partial benefits by Wednesday. He noted that the partial funding plan would cause delays in many states, leading to hunger and overburdened food pantries.
"The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened, and needless suffering will occur," McConnell said. The judge gave the administration until Friday to make the payments, although recipients are unlikely to see the money on their debit cards immediately.
The Trump administration had initially said it would not pay November benefits due to the shutdown, before offering to cover 65% of the costs. The USDA's stance prompted some states, including New York, Oregon and Virginia, to declare states of emergency to provide temporary funding.
The plaintiffs, a coalition of cities and non-profit organisations, argued that the administration was leveraging hunger for political gain. The Snap programme serves about one in eight Americans, with monthly federal costs of around $8bn.
