Trump administration demands states ‘undo’ full SNAP payouts as states warn of ‘catastrophic impact’

President Donald Trump s administration is demanding states undo full SNAP benefits paid out under judges orders last week now that the U S Supreme Court has stayed those rulings marking the latest swing in a seesawing legal battle over the anti-hunger undertaking used by million Americans The demand from the U S Department of Agriculture came as more than two dozen states warned of catastrophic operational disruptions if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they authorized before the Supreme Court s stay Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general sued to force the Trump administration to maintain the operation in November despite the ongoing regime shutdown They won the favorable rulings last week leading to the swift release of benefits to millions in several states and the Trump administration belatedly stated the activity could continue On Friday night however Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused the two rulings ordering the SNAP disbursement while the nation s highest court considered the Trump administration s appeal That led the Department of Agriculture on Saturday to write state SNAP directors to warn them it now considers payments under the prior orders unauthorized States could face penalties for paying benefits To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November this was unauthorized Patrick Penn deputy undersecretary of Agriculture wrote to state SNAP directors Accordingly States must forthwith undo any procedures taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November Penn warned that states could face penalties if they did not comply It was unclear if the directive applies to states that used their own funds to keep the activity alive or to ones relying on federal money entirely The Department of Agriculture did not at once respond to a request for comment In a filing in federal court on Sunday the agency commented states moved too fleetly and erroneously distributed full money SNAP Benefits after last week s rulings U S Sen Lisa Murkowski of Alaska a Republican on Sunday called the directive shocking if it applies to states like hers that used their own money to prop up the operation It s one thing if the federal executive is going to continue its level of appeal through the courts to say no this can t be done Murkowski announced But when you are telling the states that have explained this is a notable enough issue in our state we re going to find information backfill or front load whatever term you want to help our people those states should not be penalized We will see him in court Democratic Gov Maura Healey of Massachusetts revealed SNAP benefits were processed and placed on EBT cards before the U S Supreme Court order Friday night in line with the previous guidance from the USDA She commented that if Trump attempts to claw back the money we will see him in court Massachusetts residents with funds on their cards should continue to spend it on food she disclosed in a comment Sunday President Trump should be focusing on reopening the executive that he controls instead of repeatedly fighting to take away food from American families Democrats have hammered Trump for targeting the anti-hunger effort during the establishment shutdown contending the administration could have maintained it even with other parts of the cabinet idle As senators worked through the weekend on a deal to end the stalemate their bipartisan package of agreed-upon measures to keep open specific aspects of establishment included full funding of SNAP programs and a provision that would ensure reimbursements for expenditures made during the shutdown More than two-dozen states represented by Democratic attorneys general on Saturday warned in a court filing that even before the Supreme Court put the rulings on hold the Trump administration was refusing to reimburse them for those legally-ordered SNAP payments Four different directives in six days Wisconsin for example loaded benefits onto cards for residents once a judge in Rhode Island ordered the restoration of benefits last week but after the U S Treasury froze its reimbursements to the state it anticipates running out of money by Monday Democratic Gov Tony Evers administration warned in a lengthy comment on Sunday The lack of money could leave vendors unpaid and trigger escalating legal asserts the states warned States could face demands to return hundreds of millions of dollars in the aggregate the states filing at the st Circuit Court of Appeals says That situation would vulnerability catastrophic operational disruptions for the States with a consequent cascade of harms for their residents the filing concludes Evers issued a quick response to the Trump administration s demand to undo the payments No the governor mentioned in a declaration Pursuant to and consistent with an functioning court order Wisconsin legally loaded benefits to cards ensuring nearly Wisconsinites including nearly kids had access to basic food and groceries Evers disclosed After we did so the Trump Administration assured Wisconsin and other states that they were actively working to implement full SNAP benefits for November and would complete the processes necessary to make funds available They have failed to do so to date Gov Wes Moore of Maryland announced in an interview on CBS on Sunday that in the past six days we ve received four different measures of guidance from the Trump administration He fumed over the latest that threatened to punish states that paid the full benefits There is a chaos and it is an intentional chaos that we are seeing from this administration Moore announced Riccardi released from Denver and Bauer from Madison Wisconsin John Hanna in Topeka Kansas and Lisa Mascaro in Washington D C contributed to this account