More than two dozen Democratic state attorneys general on Tuesday sued the Trump administration for withholding emergency food assistance that could help prevent 42 million people from going hungry next month, arguing that the US Department of Agriculture is legally obligated to ensure federal nutrition aid gets to people who rely on it.
With the US government shut down since October 1, the USDA said weeks ago that it could reprogram an emergency reserve held by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure people don't lose their benefits on November 1. But last Friday a memo from the department said the emergency funds were to be used during disasters such as hurricanes and floods, and were "not legally available" for families set to lose their benefits due to the shutdown.
Officials from New York, Nevada, Minnesota, and other Democratic-led states are asking the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts to rule by October 31, on a motion to force the Trump administration to use the contingency fund to send at least partial payments to SNAP beneficiaries.
About $5 billion-$6 billion is estimated to be in the fund; before the shutdown, about $8 billion in benefits went out to families per month.
In the lawsuit, the attorneys general also argued that the USDA could use Section 32 funds, as it did to provide funding for the Women, Infants, and Children program, to continue funding SNAP in November.
The shutdown began when Democrats in Congress refused to vote with the Republican Party on a continuing resolution that would have allowed Affordable Care Act subsidies expire at the end of the year, significantly raising health insurance premiums for millions of people. Democrats also want to undo some recent GOP cuts to Medicaid.
The Trump administration has continued to place blame for the shutdown the Democrats, whom President Donald Trump refused to negotiate with over healthcare before government funding was cut off at the end of September.
The USDA website on Tuesday amplified misinformation Republicans have spread, accusing Democrats of "hold[ing] out healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures" and claiming that "the well has run dry" for SNAP despite the emergency fund.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson accused the USDA of "playing an illegal game of shutdown politics" that could result in suffering for nearly 600,000 children in his state.
"They have emergency money to help feed children during this shutdown, and they’re refusing to spend it," said Jackson. "I warned them last week that I would take them to court if they tried to hurt our kids, and today that’s what we’re doing.”
Also on Tuesday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the Republican Party will not bring a standalone bill to fund expiring SNAP benefits to the floor for a vote, saying, "The pain register is about to hit 10," and again blaming Democrats for the impending food assistance cliff.
Economist Paul Krugman noted that "the Republican majority in the Senate could maintain aid by waiving the filibuster on this issue."
"They have done this on other issues—for example, to roll back California’s electric vehicle standard," he wrote. "But for today’s Republican Party, blocking green energy is more important than keeping 40 million Americans from going hungry."
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford accused the Trump administration of making a "deliberate, cruel, and extraordinarily harmful decision" to allow tens of thousands of people to go hungry.
"Contingency funds exist for this exact scenario, yet the USDA has abdicated its responsibility to Nevadans and refused to fund SNAP benefits," said Ford. "I understand the stress of not knowing where you're next meal is coming from, because I've lived it. I don't wish that stress on any Nevadan, and I'll fight to be sure nobody in our state goes hungry."
