The White House has announced that it will issue only partial payments to around 42 million Americans who depend on food stamps, as the government shutdown paralysing federal services nears record duration, officials told a court on Monday.
Two federal courts ruled last week that President Donald Trump’s administration must allocate a $4.65 billion emergency fund to cover part of the estimated $9 billion needed for November’s payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP).
However, officials from the US Department of Agriculture — which manages SNAP — stated in a filing to a federal court in Rhode Island that they would not compensate for the remaining shortfall using alternative funding sources. As a result, “50 percent of eligible households’ current allotments” would be distributed.
The political deadlock in Washington shows little sign of breaking, with Democrats’ blockade of a House stopgap funding bill expected to push the shutdown into its 36th day on Wednesday — surpassing the record for the longest in US history.
Each passing week has deepened the strain on Americans reliant on government assistance, as essential public services remain suspended.
At the centre of the standoff lies a dispute over funding for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The subsidies, which help more than 20 million Americans afford health insurance, are set to expire at the end of the year. Without Congressional action, premiums are expected to soar when the new enrolment period begins on Saturday.
Both parties remain entrenched — Democrats refuse to reopen the government without a deal to renew the subsidies, while Republicans insist that negotiations will not proceed until government operations are restored.
SNAP funding, which averages about $356 a month per household, lapsed on Saturday, leaving one in eight Americans uncertain about how they will afford groceries.
A federal judge in Rhode Island — supported by a similar ruling in Massachusetts — temporarily halted the disruption by ordering the White House on Friday to use emergency funds to continue food stamp payments during the shutdown. The case was brought forward by a coalition of charities and advocacy groups.
Democrats had long urged the administration to utilise the emergency fund, but officials argued it was legally restricted to use for natural disaster relief.
Other vital programmes are also teetering on the edge of collapse. The WIC scheme, which provides nutritional support for pregnant women, new mothers, and infants, is running out of funds, while “Head Start” early childhood programmes serving 65,000 children began closing their doors on Saturday.
Lawmakers from both parties have expressed hope that Trump will intervene personally to broker a deal over health care subsidies.
In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said on Friday that he had instructed government lawyers to “clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
Despite these assurances, uncertainty looms over when recipients will actually receive their food benefits. The White House admitted that payments could face significant delays due to the ongoing shutdown.
“There’s a process that has to be followed,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN on Sunday. “We’ve got to figure out what the process is. President Trump wants to make sure that people get their food benefits.”
Democrats, however, sharply criticised the administration for refusing to restore full SNAP payments for November.
“The letter of the law is as plain as day. Trump should have paid SNAP benefits all along,” said Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on government spending. “Just now paying the bare minimum to partially fund SNAP is not enough — and it is not acceptable.”