Judge orders Trump administration to fully fund SNAP in November

Sarah D. Wire and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

Updated Thu, November 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM UTC

3 min read

A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to fully cover federal food assistance for 42 million Americans in November by Friday.

According to CNN , federal District Judge John McConnell said during a hastily called hearing on Nov. 6 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not worked quickly enough to release the funds after his earlier order on the resources. He also said the government had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in deciding not to shift certain funds to fully pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Nov. 6 order from McConnell comes days after the administration, in response to an earlier order, said it would provide only partial food stamp benefits for November by using some of the nearly $6 billion in a contingency fund maintained by SNAP.

The Trump administration quickly moved to appeal the order, making it unclear whether the SNAP benefits would be paid in full by Friday.

Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown .

Asia Lester, a volunteer at Anderson Interfaith Ministriees in Anderson, helps distribute food in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food.

With SNAP benefits cancelled during the government shutdown, All Access Community Development Corporation, a Hackensack non-profit, is doing an early distributions of turkeys and other food. Joellen Green, Chief Operations Officer at All Access Community Development Corporation, hands a box of food to David Gregorea in the parking lot of the Majestic Elks Lodge on Nov. 4, 2025 in Hackensack, N.J.

Jessica Hogan sits next to a neighborhood food pantry, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, that she set up outside of her home, at 422 Eventide Drive, in Murfreesboro. Hogan thinks no one should be going hungry and created the pantry to help those in need, especially during the time when people have lost SNAP benefits. Neighbors are contributing as well as receiving a variety of items from food, to toiletries, to clothes. A sign in her yard states there is no judgement and no questions regarding the pantry.

Sherry Tillman and passenger Nellie Johnson, sit in their car near Sarah Ann Bannister, left, Director of Resource Development at Anderson Interfaith Ministries in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Food distribution started at 9 a.m. and Tillman got there at 6:30 a.m. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food.

Kenneth Brown, left, gets help from volunteers Pat Field, center and Rick Norquist, from Arlington Community Services, with his food allotment Thursday November 6, 2025. The federal government shutdown is increasing demand at food pantries because many federal workers are not getting paychecks and the federal government cut back on SNAP benefits. One in five households in Arlington depends on SNAP to help put food on the table. Clients were picking up food at the pantry In Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday.

Taj Indian Restaurant and Bar offers free meals for those affected by the lapse in SNAP payments, taken on Nov. 4, 2025, in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries gets ready for a food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food.

Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries brings some of the carts of food for a 9 a.m. food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food.

Willie's Copper Top serves as a soup kitchen on Tuesdays and Saturdays in Owsley County.

Leeomi Smith rode into the Owsley County Food Place, a food bank that distributes boxes of food each Tuesday, in Booneville, Ky., Nov. 4, 2025.

Donal Dickens, Regional Branch Coordinator, Willamston Branch, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina helps set up before the food distribution at the Jockey Lot in Williamston, S.C. Friday, November 7, 2025. The event fed over 900 families.

Sandwiches or ‚ÄúSnap Sandies‚Äù are offered to those who need them at The Goose in Oklahoma City on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.

Kent Useary, 65, who lives on Detroit's east side, rides his scooter during a food distribution event at Jesus Tabernacle of Deliverance Ministries in Detroit, Mich., Nov. 5, 2025.

Simone Matthew, a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, (L) hugs Tammy Norton, a Department of Treasury worker, as she stops to pickup essential food items on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event.

Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues.

Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, line up to receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues.

Betty Anne Gallagher a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, helps load essential food items into the vehicles of government workers on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event.

Employees of DMARC, Catholic Charities, and Food Bank of Iowa hold signs during a press conference on the loss of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown at DMARC headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Ia.

Sparse shelves at Golden Harvest Food Bank are seen on Oct. 28, 2025 in Augusta, Ga. Golden Harvest Food Bank is facing shortages as the government shutdown puts SNAP benefits at risk.

Working at a food bank in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Oct. 28, 2025. Because of the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that federal food aid will not be distributed on Nov. 1.

An assortment of food sits at the Food Bank for Larimer County in Fort Collins, Colo. on Oct. 28, 2025. Food Bank for Larimer County is feeling the pinch as the government shutdown stretches on, endangering SNAP benefits for 600,000 Coloradans.

Faith communities, nonprofits and volunteers step up amid the federal block of SNAP

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Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown .

Vice President JD Vance slammed the decision as an "absurd ruling," telling reporters Thursday night, "In the middle of a shutdown, we can't have a federal judge telling the president how he must triage the situation."

Vance seemed to suggest the administration might not comply with the order. "We're trying to keep as much going as possible," he said. "The president and the entire administration are working on that, but we're not going to do it under the orders of a federal judge."

The administration had previously said it couldn't use the $6 billion in its contingency fund account to pay for SNAP during the ongoing government shutdown.

President Donald Trump argued too many Americans qualify for SNAP benefits when asked Thursday about the program, and blamed his predecessor, former President Joe Biden .

"Biden went totally crazy. Gave it to anybody that would ask. Gave it to people that were abled bodied, had no problem, anybody that would ask," Trump said. "This wasn't meant for that."

This is the first time that SNAP's food safety net money has been delayed in the program's 60-year history, despite it being used in at least two previous shutdowns. That's including the 2018 to 2019 shutdown during Trump 's first term.

“Last weekend, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time in our nation’s history. This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided,” McConnell, an Obama appointee, said in his oral order.

McConnell grumbled about the government choosing to provide partial benefits, which requires states to reprogram their systems ‒ a process that could take days or weeks depending on the state.

The government “knew there would be a long delay in paying [partial] SNAP benefits and failed to consider the harms individuals who rely on those benefits would suffer,” he argued.

A sign for food stamps stands outside a grocery story in Baldwin, New York, on Nov. 3, 2025.

The administration announced Nov. 5 that it would provide SNAP recipients with up to 65% of their monthly benefit in November.

The hearing was a response to a complaint from cities and nonprofits that the administration was only planning to cover a portion of the benefit.

Contributing: Reuters

Sarah D. Wire is a senior national political correspondent for USA TODAY and can be reached at swire@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration must fully fund SNAP this month, judge orders

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