Judges order Trump administration to use emergency reserves for SNAP payments during shutdown

Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump's administration must continue to pay for SNAP, the nation's biggest food aid program, using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown.

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A VOLUNTEER prepares meals at the Philabundance Community Kitchen in Philadelphia, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP)

The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November. That also brings uncertainty about how things will unfold and will delay payments for many beneficiaries whose cards would normally be recharged early in the month.

The US Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about one in eight Americans and is a major piece of the nation's social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.