President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that SNAP benefits will “be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government,” despite a judge’s recent ruling ordering otherwise.
Trump made the announcement via Truth Social Tuesday morning, just days after a judge ordered the Trump administration to pay out SNAP benefits as soon as possible. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified the president’s post hours later, telling reporters the Trump administration is still obeying the court order.
“The administration is fully complying with the court order, I just spoke to the president about it,” Leavitt said. “The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it's going to take some time to receive this money because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position.”
“We are digging into a contingency fund that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war, and the president does not want to tap into this fund in the future — and that's what he was referring to in his Truth Social post,” she added.
The Trump administration initially planned to stop funding the SNAP program on November 1, citing the ongoing government shutdown. But on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell ordered the administration to use emergency funds to pay out some SNAP benefits.
The government said in court filings Monday that $4.65 billion could be used to cover half of SNAP benefits for families currently enrolled. “No funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” officials wrote.
The exact timeline is unclear, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that payments resume as soon as Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP benefits, also published guidance for states earlier Tuesday on the partial payments.
Nearly 42 million people receive SNAP benefits, which help low-income families “supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being,” according to the USDA website.
There’s still no end in sight for the ongoing shutdown, which began October 1, after the Senate failed for a 14th time to reopen the government on Tuesday. Unless the Senate reaches an agreement by Tuesday night, this shutdown will become the longest in U.S. history.
The previous shutdown record was set in 2019 during Trump’s first term, with a closure that lasted 35 days.
