The administration of President Donald Trump faces a new lawsuit, this time from attorneys general of 25 states, along with Washington, D.C., challenging the cancellation of food assistance or SNAP for over 42 million people.
The lawsuit filed in the Massachusetts District Court is against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for illegally suspending benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as food stamps, which will result in millions of people no longer receiving aid starting November 1.
“The coalition emphasizes that the government’s pause is illegal because the USDA is legally required to continue providing benefits as long as it has funds, and the agency has access to billions of dollars in contingency funds that Congress specifically allocated to maintain the flow of benefits during funding lapses,” the plaintiffs stated.
Of the more than 42 million people affected, over 10 million are Latinos who would not receive food assistance, according to federal records.
“Millions of Americans are about to go hungry because the federal government has decided to withhold food assistance it is legally obligated to provide,” stated New York Attorney General Letitia James. “SNAP is one of our country’s most effective tools for fighting hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running. There is no excuse for this administration to abandon families.”
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.
The lawsuit states that the SNAP program helps families who cannot rise above the federal poverty line or around $31,000 annually.
It adds that in 2024 alone, SNAP helped over 41 million people avoid hunger or malnutrition.
“More than 62% of SNAP participants belong to families with children, and over 37% belong to families with elderly or disabled members,” the attorneys general note in the court document. “Collectively, in one month, the suing states provide food assistance to nearly 25 million people, in almost 14 million households, through SNAP. Nationally, for federal fiscal year 2024, SNAP benefits averaged around $8.3 billion per month.”
The $6 Billion
Members of the Federal Unionist Network (FUN), which includes federal employees from various departments, criticized the Trump administration for not using the $6 billion in contingency funds for SNAP.
“One in eight people in this country relies on SNAP. This isn’t a partisan issue; it’s about whether families can eat,” declared Ellen Mei, president of NTEU Chapter 255, a FUN organizer, and a USDA employee who works on SNAP. “SNAP prevents working families, seniors, and people with disabilities from going hungry. The government must release these funds immediately.”
The union members add that every dollar invested in SNAP generates up to $1.80 in economic activity, meaning it not only helps families but also boosts sales and contributes to the economy.
“For the past nine months, this administration has been dismantling the fundamental principles of a government for the people,” Mei said. “Now, even as federal employees line up at food banks, we also call on the administration to protect affordable healthcare, defend SNAP and vulnerable families—including furloughed federal employees—by immediately releasing the $6 billion in emergency food aid.”
Image: Opinion
