The United States is facing one of its most turbulent moments in recent memory as the government shutdown, now in its 35th day, matches the longest in the nation’s history. At the heart of the crisis is a fierce battle over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, which supports more than 42 million Americans each month. The fate of these benefits—vital for families, seniors, veterans, and children—has become a flashpoint in the broader political struggle gripping Washington.
On November 3, 2025, the Trump administration announced it would provide partial payments to SNAP recipients in November, drawing on a $4.65 billion contingency fund. This sum covers about half of the estimated $8 billion monthly cost of the program, according to ABC News and Reuters. The move came after federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ordered the government to use emergency reserves to keep the program operational, following warnings that funding would otherwise freeze. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) had previously stated that, without new appropriations, SNAP would be unable to continue as of November 1.
However, confusion and controversy erupted the next day when President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that, "SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office... will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!" (as reported by Roll Call and Al Jazeera). This statement directly contradicted his administration’s own plan to provide partial benefits and appeared to defy the court orders mandating the release of contingency funds.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to clarify the administration’s position later on November 4, stating, "The administration has released funds in compliance with a federal court order," but she warned that it would "take some time to receive this money." Leavitt emphasized that the process would not be immediate, as states would need to recalculate and distribute the reduced benefits, a process expected to take weeks or even months in some cases, depending on each state’s administrative capacity.
The USDA, in a memo to state agencies, instructed them to notify households about reductions in their monthly SNAP benefits. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins acknowledged the operational hurdles, saying on social media, "This will be a cumbersome process, including revised eligibility systems, State notification procedures, and ultimately, delayed benefits for weeks, but we will help States navigate those challenges." (Roll Call)
Under the current plan, eligible households will receive roughly half of their usual monthly SNAP allotment. For a one-person household in 48 states and Washington D.C., this means a reduced benefit of $149, compared to the fiscal 2024 average of $187.20 per participant, as reported by the USDA. For many families, the partial payment is expected to last only about two weeks, leaving them uncertain about how they will manage for the rest of the month. As Colleen Heflin, a professor at Syracuse University, told ABC News, "The stress that families are facing throughout the country is tremendous, not knowing how they’re going to feed their families."
The legal and logistical wrangling has only added to the uncertainty. On November 4, the Rhode Island State Council of Churches and other advocacy groups filed a motion asking the court to order the USDA to release full SNAP payments for November, arguing that partial payments would cause "devastating delay" and fail to meet the court’s directives. In their filing, they wrote, "It is now clear that due to Defendants’ course of conduct, and by their own admission, undertaking a partial payment plan at this point cannot meet the Court’s directives or adequately remedy the harm Plaintiffs are suffering." (Roll Call)
Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island ordered the USDA to use contingency funds to pay benefits by November 6, but the USDA responded that the bureaucratic work of reducing benefits could take weeks in some states, making it impossible to meet the judge’s deadline. The court scheduled a hearing for Thursday to address the ongoing dispute.
Meanwhile, congressional leaders from both parties have weighed in. Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., noted the operational challenges states face: "It really illustrates that the shutdown is causing real problems. It is something that just the amount of time it takes to actually do that, to get it where they can get the dollars out is going to take a while, some states more than others, because some states are more efficient." (Roll Call) House Agriculture ranking member Angie Craig, D-Minn., criticized the president’s wavering stance, saying, "He is not free to disregard the rule of law whenever it becomes politically inconvenient for him. The Trump administration must comply with recent court orders to fund SNAP in November for millions of hungry seniors, children, veterans and the disabled."
Some states, such as Virginia, have pledged to provide comparable subsidies to make up for lost federal funding, but experts doubt that most states have the financial capacity to fill the gap. Parke Wilde, a food economist at Tufts University, told ABC News, "States may legally be allowed to make up the lost funds but they haven’t been given a guarantee it will be reimbursed to them even after the government reopens." David Super, a law professor at Georgetown University, added, "Fiscally, it’s a lot of money and I think the states would find it difficult to do. And operationally, there would be various steps that would need to be taken to make that happen, which some states are probably set up to do better than others."
One of the most contentious points is the Trump administration’s decision not to tap a $30 billion fund set aside for child nutrition programs, which experts say could have fully funded SNAP benefits for November and possibly December without jeopardizing child nutrition payments. Super explained to ABC News that the fund "could likely also support full benefits in December 'without breaking a sweat.'" Instead, the administration opted to use only the limited contingency fund, resulting in reduced and delayed payments for millions of Americans.
The political blame game has intensified as both parties seek to leverage the crisis. Republicans accuse Democrats of holding up government funding to secure concessions on healthcare and other priorities, while Democrats argue that the administration is using SNAP recipients as bargaining chips. Leavitt, the White House press secretary, accused Democrats of "intentionally hurting American families, businesses and workers with this shutdown to fight for free healthcare for illegal aliens to appease their radical left-wing base." (Al Jazeera)
As the shutdown drags on, the stakes for millions of Americans grow higher by the day. For families who rely on SNAP to put food on the table, the bureaucratic and political squabbling in Washington is more than just a distant drama—it’s a matter of daily survival. With court orders, administrative delays, and political infighting all colliding, the question of when (and how much) help will arrive remains painfully unresolved for those who need it most.
The coming days will determine whether the courts, Congress, or the administration can break the deadlock and restore full SNAP benefits, or whether millions will continue to face uncertainty and hunger as the shutdown grinds on.
