WATCH: Democratic attorneys general sue feds to release food benefits
by Dave Mason, The Center Square, October 28, 2025
Democratic officials from California and 25 other jurisdictions sued the Trump administration Tuesday to continue Supplemental Food Assistance Program benefits in November despite the federal government shutdown, now in its 28th day.
Without the money, benefits for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, will stop Saturday, officials said.
The complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts.
Democrats and Republicans agree approximately 42 million people across the U.S. stand to lose their SNAP benefits if something isn’t done. Recipients vary from low-income individuals to seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.
Democrats say the U.S. Department of Agriculture can pull money from a contingency fund containing up to $6 billion. Republicans say Democrats could solve the whole problem now by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government open. The GOP can't do that without the support of seven more Democrats because of a 60-vote requirement in the Senate.
In the meantime, the USDA on Oct. 10 sent a letter to state agencies directing them to put SNAP's November benefits on an indefinite hold. The USDA suspended SNAP benefits indefinitely on Oct. 24.
“The contingency fund is not available to support FY (fiscal year) 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists,” the USDA said in a news release. The department contends the contingency money is reserved for people affected by natural disasters.
But the plaintiffs in the suit insist the contingency funds can be used during the shutdown for regular SNAP payments. They say the suspension of SNAP benefits is unnecessary.
The SNAP money includes $1.1 billion in assistance to 5.5 million Californians, state Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters Thursday in Sacramento.
Bonta, a Democrat, accused Republican President Donald Trump, the USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins of “using the federal shutdown as a scapegoat.”
“Trump and Rollins have made it clear that the millions of family who rely on our government for food assistance are not a priority,” Bonta said.
Bonta called the suspension of SNAP benefits illegal and noted it’s hurting millions of Americans in both red and blue states.
“The vast majority are families with kids, elderly individuals and people with disabilities,” Bonta said. “Society should be judged by how it treats the most vulnerable. Trump gets an F. …
“Every American, regardless of political affiliation, should be outraged,” Bonta said about 42 million people going hungry.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Johnson warned poverty among Californians will be 3.1% higher without SNAP.
"That equals to 1.2 million more Californians," Johnson told reporters at the news conference.
Besides Bonta, those suing the Trump administration include Democratic attorneys general from Massachusetts, Arizona, Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Also among the plaintiffs are Democratic governors from Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
The defendants are the U.S., the USDA, Rollins, and the Office of Management and Budget and its director, Russell Vought.
“Across various previous federal government shutdowns, SNAP benefits have never been interrupted by a lapse in appropriations,” the complaint says.
The 51-page complaint asks the U.S. District Court to declare the USDA’s suspension of benefits unlawful and require the department to provide benefits for November. It also seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions and a temporary restraining order to prevent the Feds from trying to carry out the suspension under a different name.
Tuesday’s lawsuit marks California’s 45th one this year against the Trump administration, Bonta said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was at the same news conference, said it was cruel for the Trump administration to deny food assistance.
To keep SNAP money flowing, the USDA is authorized to use the contingency money and has a legal obligation to spend all available dollars, Bonta argued.
“The Trump administration, however, has chosen instead to play politics with this essential safety net that so many people depend on — including 5.5 million individuals in California alone," Bonta said. "With the holidays around the corner, we are seeing costs for groceries continue to increase and food banks facing unprecedented demand. We are taking a stand because families will experience hunger and malnutrition if the Trump administration gets its way.”
While the case proceeds in court, California is fast-tracking $80 million in state money to stabilize food bank distribution and offset delays in SNAP benefits, which are called "CalFresh" in California, Newsom said.
Newsom’s office said the governor is also relying on the California National Guard and volunteers to help food banks by planning, packing, distributing and delivering meals to families in need. The governor’s office compared it to the distribution efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The office cites the USDA’s 2025 Lapse of Funding Plan, dated Sept. 30, 2025.
"Core programs of the nutrition safety net, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child Nutrition (CN) programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) shall continue operations during a lapse in appropriations, subject to the availability of funding," according to the plan.
"In addition, Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown," the plan said.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the Trump administration could use its legal transfer authority to supplement contingency reserves, which by themselves aren't enough to cover November payments. The nonpartisan research institute said one in eight Americans rely on SNAP.
The center noted SNAP received $122.4 billion in funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.
The second number in the law is the “contingency reserve,” the center said. The contingency reserve grew to $6 billion: $3 billion from the fiscal year 2024 appropriation and $3 billion from the fiscal year 2025 full-year continuing resolution.
The center said the actual amount in the reserve may be down to somewhere between $5 billion and $6 billion because of administrative costs in October.
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HAWAIʻI JOINS COALITION OF STATES AND GOVERNORS IN DEFENDING SNAP BENEFITS
Coalition Urges Court to Immediately Restore SNAP Funding Relied Upon by 42 Million Americans
News Release 2025-92 from Office of Attorney General, October 28, 2025
HONOLULU – Attorney General Anne Lopez joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors today in filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP helps more than 40 million Americans buy food, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“The unlawful suspension of SNAP benefits jeopardizes food security for thousands of Hawaiʻi residents who rely on this lifeline every day,” said Attorney General Lopez. “Our office is committed to protecting the rights of families and individuals who depend on this program.”
On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a “government shutdown.” On October 10, USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the millions of individuals across the country that rely on them.
Despite USDA’s claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this very purpose. Furthermore, USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country, who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families.
This lapse will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap. It will affect our school systems and college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating our students. Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity.
Thus far in 2025, an average of 161,400 people received SNAP benefits in Hawaiʻi each month, including approximately 27,910 families and 62,647 children. During the federal fiscal year between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025, the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services issued approximately $57,695,553 per month in SNAP benefits in Hawaiʻi for individuals and families to meet their basic subsistence and nutritional needs.
For more information on the impacts on SNAP benefits for Hawaiʻi and food resource information go to the Department of Human Services webpage here.
The coalition of attorneys general will also be filing a motion for a temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately turn benefits back on. While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their states. Suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. Where Congress has clearly spoken, providing that SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown, USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise.
Joining Attorney General Lopez in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania have also joined.
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PDF: Mass-v.-USDA-et-al.pdf
SA: Hawaii joins states suing Trump administration over SNAP halt | Honolulu Star-Advertiser