Despite his administration saying that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits would be partially paid, President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday that no payments will go out until the government shutdown ends.
Trump, writing on his social media platform, said that SNAP benefits “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.”
It is not known as of Tuesday morning if Trump’s statement on Truth Social will affect the administration’s SNAP payout plan issued about 24 hours prior.
On Monday, the administration had announced that it would pay about half of the benefits for November, but on Tuesday, lawyers filed in court a request to force the administration to pay full benefits, since the decision to make partial payments “cannot be arbitrary and capricious,” CNBC reported.
Judge Jack McConnell had ordered that benefits must be paid this month as soon as possible, using a contingency fund.
The average monthly benefit is around $190 a person and it can take up to two weeks in normal situations to load the benefit cards. Both the federal government and state governments have a part in the process to provide the funding.
The Justice Department said in the filing on Monday that the administration would “fulfill its obligation to expend” from the reserve so states could “calculate the benefits available for each eligible household,” the Times reported.
About 42 million Americans, or about 1 in 8 people, get SNAP benefits, a program managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Washington Post reported.
It issues about $90 billion in benefits a year, or about 9% of all grocery spending, according to the newspaper. Most recipients are children, people over the age of 60 or people with disabilities.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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