Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore full SNAP benefits

A Rhode Island federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to find enough money to restore full funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by Friday (Source: “Trump administration ordered to restore full SNAP benefits by Friday,” NPR, Nov. 6).
 
In failing to fully fund the food assistance program that covers 42 million low-income Americans, U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. said the government "failed to consider the harms individuals who rely on those benefits would suffer." He also said President Trump showed "intent to defy a court order" when he posted on Truth Social this week that SNAP benefits would not restart until after the federal shutdown was over, a comment that was walked back by the White House.
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture swiftly appealed the judge's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, keeping food aid in limbo.
 
On Wednesday night, the Trump administration said it would cut November's SNAP food benefits by a bit less than it had previously announced. In revised guidance for states, which are calculating partial payments, the USDA said in a court filing that maximum allotments would be reduced by 35% instead of 50%.
 
Even with the smaller proposed cut, the complex formula for reduced payments would have stayed the same, and still mean steep cuts for those who rely on the country's largest anti-hunger program.