Trump administration demands state leaders undo full SNAP payments

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is demanding state leaders to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” according to a Saturday statement.

Federal judges ruled last week that the Trump administration must use $4 billion in emergency funds to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by Friday, court documents show. But on that Friday, the administration issued an emergency appeal to block that court order, despite some states already issuing funds, according to court documents.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accepted the appeal on Friday, giving the administration 48 hours to respond. The agriculture department then demanded states to undo any funding that may have gone out in the past week.

In response to the original court ruling demanding the Trump administration pay for SNAP benefits, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore allotted $62 million from the Fiscal Responsibility Fund for Maryland residents.

Maryland joined many other states in suing the Trump administration for suspending SNAP benefits.

Nearly 680,000 Maryland residents rely on federal food assistance programs, with nearly 270,000 of those being children, according to an October news release from Moore’s office. Many SNAP recipients have felt uncertainty as the nation continues its longest government shutdown in history, nearing 40 days.

Moore also declared a state of emergency on Oct. 30 as a response to the shutdown in an attempt to assist those affected by the mass layoffs and revocation of federal benefits. Moore said $10 million from Maryland’s Fiscal Responsibility funds would be used to assist food banks across the state.

”Witholding funding from food assistance is not just illegal, it’s also cruel,” Moore wrote in his state of emergency declaration.

Many states alluded to “catastrophic operational disruptions,” if they do not get reimbursed for the SNAP benefits distributed prior to the Supreme Court’s pause, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

The administration also noted on Saturday that states may face repercussions if they do not undo steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits, as the original ruling to distribute funds was “unauthorized.”