A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to make a payment to fully fund SNAP for the month of November by Friday.
“People have been without money for too long, not making payments to them for even one more day is simply unacceptable,” said Judge John J. McConnell Jr.
Judge McConnell directly rebuked President Donald Trump for initiating “his intention to defy” a court order by saying earlier this week that SNAP will not be funded until the government reopens.
“In fact, the day before compliance was ordered, the president signaled his intention to defy the court order when he said, ‘SNAP payments will be made only when the government opens,'” the judge said.
The White House, following Trump’s comments, insisted that it was complying with the court order.
Workers and volunteers help distribute food boxes at a large-scale food distribution, in response to the federal government shutdown and delays in SNAP/CalFresh food benefits, on November 5, 2025 in City of Industry, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Judge McConnell criticized the Trump administration for making only a partial payment when it had additional emergency funds and knew the payments would not be delivered in time to comply with his court order.
“Without SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million children are immediately at risk of hunger,” Judge McConnell said. “Children are immediately at risk of going hungry. This should never happen in America.”
–Peter Charalambous of ABC News
