Two federal judges ruled Friday that the Trump administration must tap existing funds to keep the SNAP food assistance program running during the government shutdown, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
But it wasn’t immediately clear when Texans could start receiving assistance, which was expected to pause Saturday.
The rulings came as Gov. Greg Abbott faced mounting pressure to authorize emergency funding for Texas SNAP recipients. Abbott said U.S. Senate Democrats should pass legislation to end the government shutdown.
The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island said the Trump administration could decide whether to fund SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes called food stamps, partially or in full.
Leaders of 25 Democratic-run states and the District of Columbia sued the USDA in Boston federal court Tuesday after the executive agency warned that the “well has run dry” for SNAP benefits.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 31, 2025
Texans will still have to wait to access their food benefits. After USDA issues guidance to states, it takes at least three days for SNAP benefits to become available on Lone Star Cards that participants use to purchase food at grocery retailers. These funds become available on a staggered basis, where every day that the money is delayed affects around 126,000 Texans, Celia Cole of Feeding Texas previously told The Texas Tribune.
Local nonprofits have stepped into the breach, such as the United Way of Denton County and the Tarrant Area Food Bank, which serves Denton County.
A prior USDA plan for a government shutdown says SNAP should keep running during a pause in appropriations.
“Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds,” said the plan, which was subsequently removed from the USDA website.
That emergency fund totals $5.3 billion, but SNAP needs $8.2 billion for full funding in November. The Trump administration has doubled down that it cannot use this money for SNAP.
In their suit, the Democratic states argued that the administration must tap this fund, and that it also has access to a separate pool with around $23 billion. Both judges ordered the Trump administration to fund SNAP at least partially, and left it to decide whether to use additional resources to pay for full November benefits.
The Boston judge gave the Trump administration until Monday to say whether it will use contingency funds to partially fund SNAP for November or fully fund the program using both emergency and additional funds.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune. Written by Lindsey Byman, The Texas Tribune.
