SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
As the federal government shutdown heads into another weekend, federal food aid for 1 in 8 Americans remains in limbo. Two federal courts have now directed the Trump administration to send out SNAP benefits for November. That includes a ruling in Rhode Island that ordered full funding to be released to states today. NPR's Stephen Fowler has been covering this and joins us now here in studio. Hey, Stephen.
STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey there.
DETROW: So where are we on that court order to fully fund SNAP benefits for Americans?
FOWLER: Well, some states are telling their residents they will be receiving the full benefits. There's a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture today telling states to prepare to receive full funding, but the Trump administration has appealed that ruling. In its filing, the administration called the judge's decision a, quote, "mockery of the separation of powers," and went on to say that courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend.
The White House contends that legally, there's no way to fund SNAP benefits without Congress passing a spending plan. In fact, the court filing also says that trying to get them to send out SNAP payments right now is actually making it harder to try and negotiate an end to the shutdown. It's also worth noting the Rhode Island judge wrote in the order that the White House was delaying food aid to 42 million Americans for, quote, "political reasons" that also broke the law.
DETROW: Did the judge cite specific political reasons?
FOWLER: Yeah, a few of them, including a banner on the USDA website that said, quote, "the well has run dry for SNAP," and pointing out numerous statements by President Trump on social media.
It's also worth going back to earlier this year. Republicans in Congress did pass language in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that made some of the biggest changes to SNAP in recent history that drastically curtailed the number of people eligible for the benefits. Bobby Kogan with the left-leaning Center for American Progress told me last week that every Trump budget proposal has called for slashing SNAP.
BOBBY KOGAN: They just did the biggest SNAP cuts in all of U.S. history just a couple months ago, and now they are illegally saying that they don't want to make the payments.
FOWLER: Remember, pre-shutdown, the Department of Government Efficiency - or DOGE - effort had actively been trying to obtain SNAP recipient data from the states to try and find alleged waste, fraud and abuse in the program. So there's already this long-standing stance of SNAP benefits being much less of a priority of this administration, especially in a shutdown.
DETROW: OK, so you mentioned the administration's legal argument is that it's up to Congress to fund SNAP benefits. Let's check in on Congress. What is going on there? Have we gotten any update on timing of negotiations here?
FOWLER: Well, one reason the shutdown hasn't ended is because Democrats won't drop their demands that Congress extend federal subsidies for health insurance purchased through exchanges. Those subsidies are expiring and cost will double or triple for millions of Americans who benefit from those subsidies. Republicans blame Democrats for the economic pain coming to lower-income Americans. Democrats say that the Trump administration is choosing not to make these payments. And Scott, after Tuesday's election results, for now it seems to signal to Democrats that voters agree with them.
DETROW: Well, Stephen, SNAP is a program that many Democrats really value. As you said, millions of Americans rely on it. How are Democrats moving forward on their messaging given the fact that these benefits are in jeopardy right now?
FOWLER: Well, this week, in races up and down the ballot and across the country, voters seemed to send a message that they are not happy with the way Republicans are governing right now. Cost of living was especially a factor that was stated in exit polls. And again, the Democrats' view isn't that they're causing food aid to be withheld, it's that the Trump administration isn't using money to make it happen the same way they have for things like paying the military or food aid for women, infants and children.
Also both parties are going to have to come back to the table for something soon because that continuing resolution that keeps getting voted down runs out November 21 anyways. So both chambers will have to do something, otherwise we'll be right back where we started for future months.
DETROW: That is NPR's Stephen Fowler. Stephen, thank you so much.
FOWLER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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