New York officials are telling the Trump administration to obey a judge’s order on Friday that it must continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) operating during the ongoing government shutdown.
A federal judge in Massachusetts, Idira Talwani, ruled on Oct. 31 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture likely broke the law in suspending SNAP food stamp payments. The administration must utilize contingency funds to sustain the program; SNAP provides food assistance to more than 40 million Americans, including 1.8 million residing in New York City.
In a 15-page order, Talwani wrote that SNAP benefits are mandatory under federal law and that Congress set aside $6 billion in multi-year contingency reserves available through 2026 to sustain operations if regular appropriations lapse. She said the law allows the department to reduce benefits if money runs short, but not to suspend them entirely.
Talwani held that the plaintiffs, a majority coalition of 26 states, including New York, have standing to sue, citing potential fiscal and administrative harm that would result if SNAP benefits were terminated.
She directed the USDA to tell the court by Monday, Nov. 3, whether it will authorize at least reduced benefits for November and to outline how it plans to fund them.
The motion for a temporary restraining order remains under advisement while the USDA considers its options, the ruling notes.
“Millions of families rely on SNAP — or food stamps — to survive,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “The administration tried to use the shutdown as an excuse to withhold food assistance from vulnerable Americans, but the court has made clear that the law requires those benefits to continue.”
“The federal government cannot simply walk away from its obligation to feed the people it serves,” she said. “We will keep fighting until every family in New York and across the nation can put food on the table.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who on Thursday declared a state of emergency ahead of an expected food crisis, urged the Trump administration to immediately release the emergency nutrition assistance funds following the ruling.
“No state should have to sue the federal government to ensure families can put food on the table,” Hochul said. “But when Washington Republicans refused to act, New York took them to court to mitigate this crisis.”
Representatives for the USDA and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prior to the ruling, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed on Friday that the USDA’s contingency funds do not cover “even half of the $9.2 billion that would be required for November SNAP” and that the contingency funds “are only allowed to flow if the underlying appropriation is approved.”
According to the court filing, the monthly cost of SNAP benefits is approximately $8.6 billion, while the available contingency fund balance is about $6 billion.
The judge also noted that in anticipation of a potential lapse, USDA published a “Lapse in Funding Plan” on Sept. 30, 2025, in which it affirmed that SNAP operation should continue in the event of a government shutdown and that “multi-year contingency funds” previously appropriated by Congress could be used to fund SNAP benefits if needed.
