The Justice Department later said it would appeal, leaving the program known as SNAP in limbo.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Utah Food Bank kicks of a statewide Feed Utah food drive on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.
Washington • A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to fund food stamps in full for roughly 42 million low-income Americans, after admonishing the government for delaying aid under the nation’s largest anti-hunger program during the shutdown.
But the Justice Department almost immediately told the court that it would appeal the ruling. The move renewed fears that the poorest Americans would not receive their full benefits to purchase groceries this month, leaving many at risk of imminent and severe financial hardship.
The order, issued by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, marked his second legal rebuke of the administration. Reading from the bench after a short but tense hearing, he sharply criticized federal officials for ignoring his original order last week to quickly restart payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
McConnell attributed the inappropriate delay, in part, to an attempt by President Donald Trump and his aides to disrupt the program “for political reasons.” He also pointed to public comments by Trump, who said at one point that he would halt all food stamp payments until Democrats struck a deal to end the shutdown, now in its sixth week.
“This should never happen in America,” the judge said, warning that millions of poor families could go hungry in the absence of reliable federal aid.
His order, issued soon after in writing, gave the government until Friday to make the SNAP payments to the states, which manage the provision of food stamps. For now, the directive appeared set to take effect as scheduled, though the Justice Department has not indicated if it will seek to pause it, as the agency prepares to appeal the matter.
Representatives for the White House, Agriculture Department and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ruling marked a temporary and perhaps fleeting victory for cities, religious groups and nonprofits, which had sued the Trump administration over its original refusal to continue funding food stamps during the federal shutdown. Absent a court order, roughly 1 in 8 Americans stood to lose access to monthly federal nutrition aid starting this month, leaving many at risk of hunger.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
