A U.S. District Court judge for the District of Rhode Island has ruled that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits must be paid in full by the end of the day, Monday, November 3, with partial payments issued by the end of the day on November 5.
Funding for the program, which assists an estimated 43 million low-income Americans, has been at risk due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The judge, John J. McConnell, in a written decision said that there is “no question that the Congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown.”
The order points to such funds approved for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 as potential funding sources to keep the SNAP program running.
In a report published by Newsweek it was noted that the White House has said that some $5.2 billion is currently available to fund the program’s payments for now, but that continued full payments for the rest of the month “could require at least $8.5 billion.”
Last week, New Mexico Democrat Senator Ben Ray Lujan introduced legislation designed to fund both SNAP and the Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants, and Children program.
In introducing his legislation, which calls upon the Trump administration to release all funding for both programs, Lujan noted that “one in every five New Mexicans relies on SNAP to feed their families.”
Colorado Democrat Senator John Hickenlooper has said that upwards of 600,000 people in his state are at risk of losing their SNAP benefits. In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Hickenlooper remarked: “Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance.”
Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn is supporting separate legislation introduced by Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley which he said will “ensure our most vulnerable mothers, children, and families across the Lone Star State have the assistance they desperately need during this senseless shutdown.”
According to the Department of Agriculture at least 3.5 million people in Texas rely on the SNAP program for monthly assistance.
Originating as a food stamp program during the New Deal, the program officially became the SNAP program in 2008 because of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act. The WIC program was approved by Congress in 1972.
According to recent statistics published by the Department of Agriculture, the number of people receiving SNAP benefits, while high, has decreased from a 2021 peak of around 63 million.
November 3, 2025
By Garry Boulard
