Minnesota, other states sue Trump over SNAP shutdown funding

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A new lawsuit by Democratic state officials Tuesday seeks to uncork emergency money to help tens of millions of Americans keep buying food for their families after federal SNAP funding is expected to run dry Saturday due to the U.S. government shutdown.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. A halt to SNAP benefits would leave a gaping hole in the country’s safety net. Vulnerable families could see federal money dry up soon for some other programs, as well — from certain Head Start preschool programs to aid for mothers to care for their newborns through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC.

Tuesday’s legal filing from attorneys general from 22 states, including Minnesota, and the District of Columbia, plus three governors, focuses on a federal contingency fund with roughly $5 billion in it — enough to pay for the benefits for more than half a month. The officials also say the federal government could use money from a separate $23 billion fund to cover benefits.

President Donald Trump‘s Department of Agriculture said in September that its shutdown plan included using the $5 billion to keep SNAP running. But in a memo last week, it said that it couldn’t legally use it that way. The memo also said the $23 billion is supporting other programs during the shutdown and that shouldn’t be jeopardized.

The Democratic officials contend the administration is legally required to keep benefits going as long as it has funding.

The agency said SNAP debit cards beneficiaries use to buy groceries will not be reloaded as of Nov. 1.

“It is hard to be shocked by the cruelty and illegality of the Trump administration anymore, yet I am shocked that Donald Trump is deliberately allowing 440,000 Minnesotans, to go hungry,”  Minnesota Attorney General Ellison said in a news release. “Congress put a rainy-day fund in place so nutrition support could continue during a government shutdown, yet despite that clear congressional intent, Trump’s USDA is refusing to tap into that fund.

“It is a disgrace to the presidency that Donald Trump is using hungry children throughout Minnesota as bargaining chips in the fight over his government shutdown. His actions aren’t just cruel though, they are unlawful. It’s my job to help Minnesotans afford their lives, and today that means taking the Trump administration to court to help feed people in need.”

With their own coalition, 19 Republican state attorneys general sent Democratic U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a letter Tuesday urging passage of a “clean continuing resolution” to keep funding SNAP benefits.