Trump Pleads With Judges to Let Him Keep People Hungry

President Donald Trump has asked a federal appeals court to block an order requiring his administration to continue fully funding SNAP benefits during the government shutdown.

On Thursday, Trump asked the 1st Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals to allow him to pay only 65 percent of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that 42 million Americans depend on to eat.

This would circumvent rulings from U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordering that the U.S. government tap into contingency funds and move government money around to fund SNAP in full.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: U.S. President Donald Trump stands by as attendees help a guest after he collapsed during during an event on lowering drug prices in the Oval Office at the White House on November 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump announced that his administration has reached agreements with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that would lower the price of some GLP-1 weight loss medications. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) — The Trump administration has signaled it doesn’t want to make the effort to fully fund SNAP benefits that feed hungry Americans. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In October, 25 states sued the Trump administration to continue paying SNAP benefits as the shutdown drags on. Judge McConnell ruled on Oct. 31 that the U.S. government must at least partially fund SNAP benefits until November 5, at which point it must begin paying the benefits in full.

He said the administration must tap into a $4.65 billion contingency fund as the government shutdown continues and figure out where to get the other $3.35 billion to achieve the $8 billion necessary to fund SNAP in full.

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 31: U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks alongside U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins during a news conference on Capitol Hill on October 31, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House Speaker's office held the news conference on the 31st day of the government shutdown to discuss food stamp programs running out of funding. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) — Mike Johnson and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins have offered various excuses as to why they can’t figure out how to pay SNAP benefits in full. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Though SNAP benefits have never lapsed in any prior government shutdown, including the 2018-2019 shutdown overseen by Trump, the current administration spent the first week of November coming up with excuses as to why it couldn’t comply with the court’s order.

On Monday, it told the court that it would pay 50 percent of the benefits through the contingency fund but not use any other money. On Wednesday, it said its review of available contingency funds meant it could pay 65 percent of SNAP benefits.

Plaintiffs in the case found this unacceptable, and on Thursday, Judge McConnell agreed, reiterating his demand that the USDA figure out how to get 100 percent of the benefits out.

“The court was clear that the administration had to either make the full payment by this past Monday, or it must ‘expeditiously resolve the administrative and clerical burdens it described in its papers,’ but under no circumstances shall the partial payments be made later than Wednesday, November 5th, 2025,” McConnell said.

“The record is clear that the administration did neither.”

The Trump administration has consistently signaled that it doesn’t want to pay SNAP benefits as the shutdown continues, and has offered a litany of excuses as to why.

Before a court ruled otherwise, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said it was legally impossible to tap into contingency funds that could fund SNAP while the government was shut down.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said funding SNAP would alleviate pressure on Democrats to sign the Republicans’ budget bill.

Trump said on Thursday that the government couldn’t feed 42 million hungry Americans because it had to remain “very liquid” in case of an emergency problems like “catastrophes” or “wars.”

“While the President of the United States professes a commitment to helping those it serves, the government’s actions tell a different story,” wrote McConnell.

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