The Trump administration has mandated that U.S. states cease providing full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to low-income families, labeling such payments as ‘unauthorized.’ This directive, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees SNAP, follows a Supreme Court decision permitting the administration to withhold a portion of funding pending further legal proceedings. As a result, states are now required to distribute only 65% of the usual benefits. This development affects over 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, and comes amidst the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Previously, some states had utilized emergency funds to supplement recipient benefits, but the USDA’s recent memo insists that states immediately reverse any actions taken to issue full benefits for November 2025. The legal dispute arose after the USDA announced that SNAP benefits would be suspended in November due to funding shortages caused by the shutdown. The White House sought intervention from the Supreme Court after a lower court ruled that full benefits should be disbursed. On Friday, the Supreme Court issued an emergency order, temporarily allowing the administration to withhold $4 billion in SNAP funding. SNAP, which supports approximately one in eight Americans, costs nearly $9 billion monthly.
Trump administration tells states to stop paying full food aid benefits
