Democratic officials from twenty-five states filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the United States Department of Agriculture, challenging the agency’s decision to suspend federal food stamp benefits during the ongoing government shutdown.
The legal action, filed in Massachusetts district court, represents attorneys general from twenty-two states and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. The lawsuit comes as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program faces an unprecedented funding crisis that could leave forty-two million Americans without food assistance beginning this weekend.
According to the USDA’s own statements, the agency will not allocate additional SNAP funding while the shutdown continues. Benefits that would ordinarily be distributed on November first will not be loaded onto recipients’ Electronic Benefit Transfer cards. If this suspension proceeds, it would mark the first time in the program’s sixty-year history that the federal government has halted food stamp issuance during a shutdown.
The plaintiffs argue that the Agriculture Department possesses both the legal obligation and the financial means to continue the program. Their lawsuit contends that Congress has appropriated contingency funds specifically for such circumstances, and that the USDA is violating federal law by refusing to deploy these resources.
“Millions of Americans are about to go hungry because the federal government has chosen to withhold food assistance it is legally obligated to provide,” stated New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the named plaintiffs. “SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools to fight hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running.”
The legal challenge cites two primary violations. First, the plaintiffs assert that the USDA’s actions breach the Food and Nutrition Act, which establishes protections for SNAP benefit access. Second, they allege that the department’s decision constitutes arbitrary and capricious behavior in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order compelling the Agriculture Department to maintain SNAP benefits through November in the plaintiff states.
The USDA responded to the legal action with a statement placing responsibility squarely on Senate Democrats. “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats,” a department spokesperson said. “Continue to hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.”
The statement also referenced the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which provides free food to low-income pregnant women, mothers, and children under five years of age. This program faces similar funding shortfalls due to the shutdown.
Because October SNAP funding was allocated before the government shutdown began, benefits have continued without interruption thus far. However, most states have already issued warnings to recipients that November benefits will not be available. Several states have begun directing SNAP recipients toward food banks and recommending they purchase shelf-stable items with any remaining October benefits.
The situation presents a significant test of federal obligations during government shutdowns and raises fundamental questions about the continuity of essential safety net programs during political standoffs.
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