The Trump Administration Says It Will Pay November SNAP Benefits—In Part. Here's What That Means for Recipients

The approximately 42 million Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will get partial payments this month, the Trump Administration announced, after courts ruled the Administration could not halt the benefits as the government shutdown approaches its sixth week like it had intended. The Administration had previously said the food stamp payments relied on by millions of Americans would be cut off starting on Nov. 1, drawing stark warnings from state governments, food banks, and experts. But in a court filing on Monday, it said it would partially fund the program with emergency funds—as two federal judges ruled late last week that it was required to do—though it is declining to use other funds that might have allowed for full payments. Here’s what to know about what’s happening in the courts, and what it means for SNAP recipients. How the Trump Administration says it will fund the program U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell on Friday ordered the Administration to use money from a $6 billion contingency fund to issue November SNAP payments at least in part. The Administration said in a filing in response to that order that it will dip into the fund to partially fund the benefits.  The Justice Department said it will “fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today,” enabling states to “calculate the benefits available for each eligible household” and “begin disbursements.” In a separate filing, Department of Agriculture official Patrick Penn, who oversees SNAP,  said $4.65 billion in contingency funds was available to be used for the November payments. The Administration will not tap other potential sources of funding, Penn added, saying it had considered drawing from funds for Child Nutrition Programs but determined they “must remain available” to prevent a shortfall for those programs, which he said “provide critical, nutritionally-balanced meals and food assistance benefits to millions of children every day.” How much will SNAP beneficiaries receive, and when? Penn said that “50% of eligible households’ current allotments” would be paid with the available contingency funds, indicating that millions of families could still be left short on critical aid. He also noted that “this means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely.” It’s also not yet entirely clear when SNAP beneficiaries who are receiving payments will get them. McConnell’s written order from Saturday said the Department of Agriculture, which distributes the benefits, could either make full payments by Monday or partial payments by Wednesday.  When asked during an interview on CNN on Sunday if benefits could be paid by Wednesday, as one of McConnell’s options, Treasury Secretary Bessent replied: “Could be.” Penn said in the court filing, however, that procedural issues could impact efforts to get households benefits “in a timely manner and in the correctly reduced amounts,” saying it was the Department of Agriculture’s understanding that some states might take “anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months” to make system changes required to provide the payments.