The Trump administration is asking a federal appeals court to pause a judge’s order that requires the government to fully cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell told Justice Department lawyers that it is “simply unacceptable” to wait any longer before providing the full payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and instead said the administration should act swiftly.
“Without SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry,” McConnell said. “This should never happen in America.”
The Trump administration’s emergency request came in on Friday (Nov 7), a day after Judge McConnell, said the US Department of Agriculture must find additional money to make the payments, rejecting the administration’s decision to only partially fund the food benefits program this month.
In its filing with the appeals court, the Trump administration said that the “crisis” of the lack of regular funding for full SNAP payments “can only be solved by congressional action.”
Per CNBC, congress, since Oct.1, has repeatedly failed to pass a stopgap funding appropriation that would allow the government to reopen, and which would fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps feed about 1 out of every 8 Americans.
Justice Department lawyers wrote in the filing that instead of Congress passing new SNAP funding, “a single district judge has devised his own solution: ordering USDA to cover the SNAP shortfall by transferring billions of dollars that were appropriated for different, equally critical food-security programs —and to do so within just one business day (i.e., by today).”
“This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers,” the lawyers wrote. “Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend. Courts are charged with enforcing the law, but the law is explicit that SNAP benefits are subject to available appropriations.”