Trump admin to pay about half of monthly SNAP benefits after court order

Last week, two federal judges ruled that the US Department of Agriculture must use its $5.3 billion contingency funds to partially pay benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program normally costs between $8-9 billion monthly, and the Trump administration said it would pay $4.65 billion to cover about half of benefits. About $600 million from the contingency fund will go to states’ administrative costs.

However, the USDA warned it may take some states weeks or even several months to recalculate and distribute the reduced benefits. Democrats in Congress are pushing the Trump administration to fully fund the program using other funds at its disposal, including tens of billions of dollars in tariff revenue.

The Trump administration has decided to tap those funds to pay $450 million in benefits for WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). That injection of funds is enough for about 3 weeks of full WIC benefits.

Misinformation adds to anger, panic as SNAP recipients brace for delayed, reduced benefits.

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