The Trump administration has ordered states to halt the distribution of full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for November, promising consequences if they don't.
In a memo, the Agriculture Department authorizing state governments to make only partial disbursements to the more than 40 million people enrolled in the program—roughly 65% of the usual amount. State officials were told to "immediately undo any steps taken" to provide the full amounts, the Washington Post reports. If they don't comply, the memo said they could lose federal funding that helps cover SNAP's administrative costs.
SNAP is the country's largest anti-hunger program, serving primarily children, seniors, and adults with disabilities. While benefits are federally funded, states are responsible for administering the program and share administrative expenses with the federal government. The memo follows a legal back-and-forth in which a Rhode Island judge had ordered the administration to release the full benefits despite the government shutdown. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily blocked that order late Friday, allowing the administration's directive to proceed for now.
The administration's order was sent out last Saturday night, per the New York Times. By Sunday morning, officials in several states said they were unsure what the effects would be. Some states had already released the full amount to recipients who hadn't gotten payments due at the beginning of the month. Trump administration officials are "demanding that food assistance be taken away from the households that have already received it," said the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee in a statement. "They would rather go door to door, taking away people's food, than do the right thing and fully fund SNAP for November so that struggling veterans, seniors, and children can keep food on the table," said Rep. Angie Craig.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
