Posted on 10/31/25
| News Source: WSJ
Washington, D.C. - Oct. 31, 2025 - A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to tap emergency funds to pay for federal food assistance benefits, a day before they were set to be suspended because of the government shutdown.
Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island issued the temporary restraining order during a hearing, saying he was directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use contingency funds to pay benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“There is no doubt and it is beyond argument that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn’t already occurred,” said McConnell, an Obama appointee.
The order may help temporarily alleviate one looming crisis for millions of Americans resulting from the impasse between Republicans and Democrats on a bill to fund the government and end the shutdown.
SNAP, a program formerly known as food stamps, helps 42 million poor and disabled Americans buy food. Retailers and manufactures also count on the sales from SNAP spending.
The federal government initially said ahead of the shutdown that it would keep paying SNAP benefits using emergency funding. But in an Oct. 24 memo, the USDA said that contingency funds weren’t “legally available” to pay SNAP benefits starting Nov. 1.