The Trump administration said Monday it will use contingency funds to provide partial SNAP benefits to over 42 million Americans for November.
The decision comes after a judge on Friday ordered the Department of Agriculture to disburse funding for the program.
The administration said that it would use all of the $4.65 billion in contingency funds, which will cover half of each eligible household’s benefits this month.
The administration added that it was using the contingency funds, since there would be no remaining funds for new SNAP applicants, “disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely.”
On Friday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the Trump administration to make a full SNAP payment by the end of the day Monday or a partial payment by Wednesday.
“There is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown; in fact, the President, during his first term, issued guidance indicating that these contingency funds are available if SNAP funds lapse due to a government shutdown,” McConnell wrote in his order.
McConnell’s decision comes after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said last week that she will “allow Defendants to consider whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November, and report back to the court no later than Monday, November 3, 2025.”
Over 40 million people across the country use SNAP benefits to buy food, and the potential suspension of those benefits was raising concerns about how low-income people will put food on the table.
Last week, Democratic leaders from 25 states sued the administration, trying to force the department to use contingency funds to keep the program open amid the ongoing government shutdown.
