A unpaid displays accusation connected the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) astatine a market store successful Dorchester, Massachusetts, US, connected Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.
Mel Musto | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Department of Agriculture issued a memo to states precocious Saturday evening, threatening to enact fiscal penalties if states that issued afloat monthly SNAP benefits for November don't "undo" the payments.
The late-night directive from the Trump medication adds to the chaos surrounding the anti-hunger programme that serves much than 42 cardinal Americans.
The memo, signed by Patrick Penn, Deputy Under Secretary of the Department of Agriculture's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, warned states that the medication had not cleared afloat SNAP payment payments for November.
"To the grade States sent afloat SNAP outgo files for November 2025, this was unauthorized," according to the memo. State programme administrators were directed to administer 65% partial payments of SNAP benefits for the period instead, the memo said.
States indispensable besides "immediately undo immoderate steps taken to contented afloat SNAP benefits for November 2025," the memo said. Failure to comply could effect successful the USDA cancelling the national stock of medication costs oregon holding states financially liable for "any overissuances that effect from the noncompliance."
It was unclear however the USDA expects states to claw backmost immoderate unauthorized SNAP payments.
The Agriculture Department and the White House did not instantly respond to CNBC's petition for comment.
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The USDA memo was archetypal reported by The New York Times.
The memo comes arsenic immoderate states scrambled to comply with a tribunal ruling connected Thursday, erstwhile a national justice ordered the Trump medication to wage afloat SNAP benefits for November by Friday. The tribunal rejected the administration's program to partially fund the nutrient stamp programme amid the U.S. authorities shutdown.
The USDA subsequently told states that it would statesman disbursing afloat SNAP benefits to comply with that order, adjacent arsenic the ruling faced an entreaty from the Trump administration.
The Associated Press reported precocious Friday that much than fractional a twelve states had "confirmed that immoderate SNAP recipients already were issued afloat November payments connected Friday."
However, that order was paused by the Supreme Court connected Friday, opening the doorway for the Trump administration, oregon immoderate plaintiffs, to situation the ruling.
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The Trump medication had antecedently said it would not usage the contingency money containing $4.65 cardinal to money the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in November. The full outgo of afloat SNAP benefits for the period is astir $8 billion.
The program, similar different national programs, has nary presently appropriated money, arsenic a effect of Congress failing to walk a spending bill. That nonaccomplishment led to the U.S. government shutdown connected Oct. 1.
Past administrations person continued paying SNAP benefits during anterior shutdowns.
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