Democratic leaders from 25 states are suing the Agriculture Department over the looming suspension of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. Benefits are expected to run dry across the country this weekend because of the ongoing government shutdown.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Massachusetts district court, argues that the USDA is legally required to continue providing SNAP benefits during the shutdown as long as it has funding. It calls on the court to compel the USDA to use contingency funds appropriated by Congress to keep the program running.
Up to 42 million people rely on SNAP food assistance, and recipients would ordinarily see their EBT cards get reloaded on Nov. 1. But the USDA website states that the agency will not allocate more funding while the shutdown persists — an unprecedented situation that could cause widespread hunger across the country.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the attorneys general of 22 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
“Millions of Americans are about to go hungry because the federal government has chosen to withhold food assistance it is legally obligated to provide,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools to fight hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running.”
James and her fellow plaintiffs argue that by not allocating contingency funds, the USDA is violating the Food and Nutrition Act, which protects access to SNAP benefits. They also allege that the USDA’s actions are arbitrary and capricious and therefore violate the Administrative Procedure Act.
The leaders are seeking a temporary restraining order that would require the USDA to maintain SNAP benefits through November in their states.
When asked for comment about the lawsuit, a USDA spokesperson responded with a statement: “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. Continue to hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.”
(WIC refers to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which provides free food to low-income pregnant women, moms and children under 5. The program is similarly in danger of a funding shortfall because of the shutdown.)
If SNAP benefits are suspended, it would be the first time in the program’s 60-year history that the federal government stopped issuing them during a shutdown.
At a news conference about the lawsuit, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of the plaintiffs, said he believes the USDA has up to $6 billion in contingency funds — enough to cover SNAP in November.
“They are doing this on purpose. It is deliberate. It is intentional. They have the funds. They’re just not using them,” he said.
Bonta added that the USDA acknowledged during the 2019 government shutdown that contingency funds could be used to maintain SNAP benefits.
In a September planning document ahead of the current shutdown, the USDA also said it could use multiyear contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits and keep state operations running. But that document has been removed from the USDA website, and the department told SNAP directors this month that it did not have enough funding to pay full benefits in November if the shutdown persists.
In a follow-up memo, the USDA said contingency funds were “not legally available to cover regular benefits.” It said the funds were earmarked for situations like natural disasters and could not be used to supplement regular monthly benefits because Congress has not passed a federal budget. Transferring money from other sources would mean less funding for school meals and infant formula, the department added.
Because October funding for SNAP was allocated prior to the shutdown, benefits have not yet been disrupted. Most states have warned SNAP recipients that they will lose access to benefits at the start of November. Some states are already directing recipients to food banks or suggesting they use any remaining benefits to buy shelf-stable items.
At the news conference Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized Republican governors for not joining the lawsuit.
“The impacts in their states, ironically, are disproportionate,” he said.
The USDA website, however, blames Democrats: “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program,” it says, referring to the standoff over the 2026 federal budget. “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”
We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now, a person who relies on federal benefits like SNAP, or someone who is feeling the effects of other shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or reach out to us here.
