White House says it will partially fund SNAP benefits after Trump threatens to withhold them until shutdown ends

(CNN) — The White House on Tuesday confirmed that it would follow through on plans to partially fund critical food aid during the government shutdown, despite President Donald Trump’s threat just hours earlier that he would withhold the federal assistance. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that she had spoken with Trump and that the administration would be “fully complying” with a court order to keep some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits flowing. “We’re getting that partial payment out the door as much as we can and as quickly as we can,” Leavitt said of the program more commonly known as SNAP or food stamps. Trump sparked widespread confusion earlier on Tuesday when he appeared to abruptly reverse course on the administration’s funding plan, writing on Truth Social that SNAP “will be given only when those Radical Left Democrats open up the government, which they can easily do, and not before!” That move would have left millions of people without the monthly federal assistance they rely on to purchase food, and sparked a fresh legal showdown after a court last week in required that the administration keep at least some of the aid flowing. “This is immoral. See you in court,” Skye Perryman, the CEO of Democracy Forward, a legal organization involved in a separate lawsuit that also sought continuation of the SNAP benefits, wrote on X in response to Trump’s post. The administration is tapping into a roughly $5 billion contingency fund to support partial benefits into November. The Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, issued guidance earlier on Tuesday to states for distributing the partial payments. Nearly 42 million Americans receive SNAP benefits, which amount to roughly $350 per household per month on average when paid out in full. Trump officials had previously planned to cut off the benefits beginning November 1, citing concerns over whether they could legally use the contingency fund or move money from other accounts. But the court indicated that the administration could do both to fully fund the more than $9 billion of aid, essentially giving Trump officials the choice of paying partial or full benefits. The administration opted only to use the contingency fund to pay out partial benefits. A federal judge, meanwhile, scheduled a Thursday hearing to consider a fresh request for an order requiring the Trump administration to provide Americans with their full food stamp benefits for November. The hearing before US District Judge John McConnell will be the latest episode in a dramatic showdown over the benefits that is playing out in two different federal courts. After the government notified McConnell of its plans on Monday that it would provide only partial SNAP benefits, a coalition of cities, nonprofits, unions and small businesses that brought the legal challenge pressed the judge to intervene yet again, arguing USDA’s choice did not comport with the requirements of his order last week. The plaintiffs are asking the judge to issue a new order that would force the administration to tap into a separate pot of money to provide SNAP benefits for November. Thursday’s hearing is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.

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