The government had said in filings food stamps would be going out soon.
President Donald Trump on Nov. 4 said that benefits will not go to federal food stamp recipients until the government is reopened, as a coalition of plaintiffs urged a judge to take action.
Benefits for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
A federal judge recently ordered the Trump administration to partially or fully fund SNAP benefits for November.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington later Tuesday that the Trump administration “is fully complying with the court order.”
“The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take some time to receive this money, because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position. We are digging into a contingency fund that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war, and the president does not want to have to tap into this fund in the future, and that’s what he was referring to in his Truth Social post,” she stated.
Trump administration officials told the judge, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr., on Monday that they would spend approximately $4.6 billion in contingency money to partially fund the November benefits for the approximately 42 million SNAP enrollees.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said that states must recode their systems to adjust for the reduced benefits and that it could take states from a few weeks to several months to do so.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on X on Tuesday that “this will be a cumbersome process, including revised eligibility systems, State notification procedures, and ultimately, delayed benefits for weeks, but we will help States navigate those challenges.”
🚨This morning, @USDA sent SNAP guidance to States. My team stands by to offer immediate technical assistance.
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) November 4, 2025
This will be a cumbersome process, including revised eligibility systems, State notification procedures, and ultimately, delayed benefits for weeks, but we will help…
She also urged Democrats to reopen the government.
Democrats in Congress have largely voted against measures that would end the government shutdown, which started on Oct. 1. Republicans on Nov. 3 blocked a resolution from Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) that would require the government to fully fund November SNAP payments.
