President Trump said his administration won’t restart the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food benefits, for 42 million low-income Americans until the government shutdown ends.
Mr. Trump’s announcement sparked confusion, because it contradicts a Monday court filing from his administration in which officials said the government would pay half the costs of SNAP benefits for November by tapping a contingency fund. It is unclear what Mr. Trump’s statement means for the contingency fund, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump blamed Democrats for the shutdown and the deadlock in Congress while accusing them of expanding the program beyond its intended purpose.
He said Democrats gave away “billions and billions of dollars” in SNAP benefits under former President Joseph R. Biden, accusing them of giving the funds to “anyone” instead of those in need.”
“SNAP benefits, which increased by billions and billions of dollars (Many Fold!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly ’handed’ to anyone for the asking, as opposed to those just in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!) will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up the government, which they can easily do and not before,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday on social media.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to walk back Mr. Trump’s warning, insisting the administration is “fully complying” with the court order.
“We are digging into a contingency fund that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war and the president does not want to tap into this fund in the future and that’s what he was referring to in his Truth Social Post,” she said.
Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, blasted Mr. Trump’s remarks, saying withholding the benefits is “extraordinarily cruel.”
“Even for Trump this an outrageous step forward in terms of illegal behavior. Congress has set aside five-plus-billion dollars precisely for the purpose of feeding children who are hungry in the event of a government shutdown,” he said.
“That’s why the money was appropriated, and the idea of creating a situation where the children in this country will go hungry so that he thinks he can make a political point is outrageous and extraordinarily cruel,” Mr. Sanders said.
Mr. Trump’s social media post quickly made its way into a federal court in Rhode Island, where a coalition of cities and nonprofits is challenging the administration’s decision-making on SNAP.
They said the president’s words suggested “defiance of this court’s order.”
The coalition has asked the judge to order the president to pay out full benefits this month.
The president’s announcement comes as a coalition of cities and nonprofits returns to federal court to force the Trump administration to pay food stamps in full this month, arguing that otherwise poor families would face hunger.
“Time is of the essence when it comes to hunger,” the coalition told Judge John McConnell Jr. in a filing Tuesday.
They declared the administration’s decision to pay partial benefits, rather than full benefits, to be a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which bars the government from making “arbitrary and capricious” decisions.
They objected to the administration’s decision not to siphon money from the school lunch program to pay for food stamp benefits. If they had used the money, it could have paid for 100% of benefits this month. Instead, relying only on another contingency fund, the government says it can only pay 50%.
Judge McConnell has ordered the administration to defend its decision-making in a brief to be filed by Wednesday and at a hearing now scheduled for Thursday.
In paying half-benefits, the administration acknowledged it would create hiccups for states that will have to reconfigure their systems to make the different payments. A senior Agriculture Department official justified not tapping the school lunch money, saying there is too much uncertainty amid the shutdown to take money from one needed program to pay for another.
The coalition, in its brief Tuesday, said Mr. Trump and his team are withholding the money “for partisan political purposes,” seeking leverage in the shutdown fight with congressional Democrats.
They said Mr. Trump’s social media posting confirmed that motive.
• Susan Ferrechio contributed to this story.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.