(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration’s claim that states were “unauthorized” to begin issuing full SNAP benefits over the weekend is “untethered to the factual record,” a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits the Trump administration from trying to force states to “undo” benefits that they began disbursing over the weekend.
She also ordered the administration to ensure that the emergency funds for SNAP — which cover about 65% of November benefits — are made available to states by Thursday.
With the government shutdown nearing an end, the ruling appears unlikely to immediately change the status of the benefits, though it supports the Democratic state officials who began dispensing benefits.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that full SNAP benefits will be paid out once the shutdown is resolved.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which operates the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, notified states that it was “working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances” to comply with an order from U.S. District Judge McConnell that the Trump administration fully fund SNAP with emergency funds.
But the USDA backtracked the next day, telling states they must “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” with the administration saying the full SNAP payments by states were “unauthorized.”
Judge Talwani, in her ruling Wednesday, said the Trump administration “confused the record” by offering contradictory guidance.
“In light of this record, the court finds that USDA’s assertion — that the States took ‘unauthorized’ action when they were complying with a court order that had not yet been stayed and with the USDA’s own directive — untethered to the factual record,” she wrote.
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