The 559,500 New Mexicans who rely on SNAP for food assistance will get at least some of their monthly federal benefits this month, after the Trump administration agreed to follow two court orders and use a contingency fund to partially fund the benefits.
A four-page document submitted to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Monday said the administration would comply with an order issued Friday by District Judge John J. McConnell Jr.
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture is complying with the Court’s order and will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today by generating the table required for States to calculate the benefits available for each eligible household in that State,” the document stated.
Attorneys added that the USDA will make the funds available and has authorized the states to begin dispersing them once the benefit calculation table is available.
The announcement came after McConnell and District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts on Friday each ruled in two separate suits that the Trump administration acted unlawfully by canceling federal SNAP benefit payments for November due to the ongoing government shutdown, and did so despite having a contingency fund that could have covered at least some of the payments.
In the Massachusetts case, which was brought by 25 states, including New Mexico, a federal judge held off on whether to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the USDA from blocking payment of SNAP benefits. She gave the administration until Monday to decide whether it would cover some of the monthly benefit using only the contingency fund or pay out the full benefit using the fund and other sources.
Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) had a mixed reaction to the news.
“While I am glad to see that USDA will comply with the court order and release contingency funds to fund partial benefits, I urge the Trump administration to use their transfer authority to fully fund November benefits. No family should go hungry because of President Trump’s political games,” Lujan stated in a press release.
In a social media post, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01) called the Trump administration’s decision to use the funds “a huge victory for the American people.”
The administration resisted calls to release the contingency funds, claiming the money is intended for food assistance for individuals impacted by Natural disasters and not to make regular monthly payments and that pulling money from other areas could have a detrimental impact on other USDA priorities.
Instead, the Trump administration and Republicans have said that the Senate should instead pass a continuing resolution that would keep SNAP benefits flowing and the federal government funded up through Nov. 21.
The resolution cleared the U.S. House of Representatives in September but has repeatedly failed to get the 60 votes needed for passage, as Democrats demand that an extension of expiring healthcare tax credits be part of any government funding deal.