President Trump said Friday that he would move to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if provided with “the appropriate legal direction,” following a federal judge’s order directing officials to use an emergency fund to keep the program running.
SNAP benefits are set to expire Saturday as the government shutdown continues. Until now, Trump administration officials have maintained that they would not use the program’s emergency fund without explicit legal authorization, The Hill reported.
“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” he continued. “Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
President Trump said that even if he were to access emergency funds, SNAP benefits would still face delays in November. He urged Americans to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown, noting that his administration had already found creative funding solutions to ensure members of the military continued to receive their paychecks.
Earlier Friday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued an order blocking the Trump administration from halting SNAP payments over the weekend due to the shutdown.
