Judge orders Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits by Friday, rebukes Trump
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to make a payment to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the month of November by tomorrow.
“People have gone without for too long, not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable,” said U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr.
Judge McConnell directly rebuked President Donald Trump for stating “his intent to defy” a court order by saying earlier this week that SNAP will not be funded until the government reopens from the ongoing government shutdown.
“In fact, the day before the compliance was ordered, the president stated his intent to defy the court order when he said, ‘SNAP payments will be given only when the government opens,'” the judge said.
McConnell, following an emergency hearing last Friday, ordered the government to use emergency funds to pay for SNAP in time for the Nov. 1 payments to be made — but the administration committed to only partially funding the program, saying they had to save the additional funds for child nutrition programs.
Judge McConnell, in Thursday’s order, criticized the Trump administration for only making a partial payment when it had additional emergency funds and knew the payments would not be delivered in time to comply with his court order.
President Donald Trump speaks to the America Business Forum Miami, Nov. 5, 2025, in Miami.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
“Without SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry,” said Judge McConnell. “Children are immediately at risk of going hungry. This should never happen in America.”
Judge McConnell became one of the first federal district court judges in Trump’s second term to block a Trump executive action when earlier this year he issued an injunction against an Office of Management and Budget memo ordering an across-the-board freeze on all government spending. The memo was later rescinded by the administration.
McConnell, in rare public remarks for a federal judge, said recently that he has had six credible death threats directed at him in the wake of that episode.
