SNAP Funding Crisis: Legal Deadlines Loom Amidst Government Shutdown

The Trump administration faces a critical deadline to decide on the funding of SNAP amidst a government shutdown. Judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have ruled the program must continue, despite the USDA's plan to halt payments. Benefits will be impacted regardless of the courts' decisions.

President Donald Trump's administration is under pressure to meet a pressing Monday deadline to inform two federal judges about its plans regarding SNAP funding amidst the government shutdown.

The US Department of Agriculture had intended to freeze the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme payments as of November 1, citing an inability to fund due to the shutdown.

In reaction, judges have ordered the administration to maintain funding, while recipients face uncertainty about their benefits. Legal and political debates intensify over the use of emergency funds, with Democratic states challenging the suspension's legality.

(With inputs from agencies.)