A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
The Trump administration is appealing a court order requiring it to restore full SNAP food benefits by today.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The government had previously said it would only restore partial benefits in response to an earlier decision. A federal judge in Rhode Island issued the new order yesterday, saying the government failed to consider the harm to individuals who rely on those benefits.
MART脥NEZ: NPR's Tovia Smith is following this. So, Tovia, that Rhode Island judge - that's the same one who last week forced the Trump administration to use emergency funding to keep SNAP going. So what's he saying now?
TOVIA SMITH, BYLINE: Well, he's laying into the Trump administration again, accusing it of withholding and delaying SNAP benefits for, quote, "political reasons." U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. called it astounding that the Trump administration didn't consider the harm it was causing to the millions of Americans who depend on this food assistance. As he put it in his order, this court is not naive to the administration's true motives. McConnell cited a post the president put up on social media this week declaring that SNAP benefits will only resume when, quote, "the radical-left Democrats open up government." And the judge said that was proof of Trump's intent to defy the original court order to keep SNAP going and a big part of why he ordered the government to fully fund SNAP by today. And it was just about an hour later that the Trump administration appealed the court order. Attorneys offered no arguments just yet, just saying they're appealing.
MART脥NEZ: I know the administration has said that it doesn't have the money to fully fund SNAP during the government shutdown. So did the judge address where the money will come from now?
SMITH: Yes. Remember last week, he said the government had to use an emergency fund to keep SNAP going, though that was only enough to pay partial benefits. This time, he said the administration must also cover the rest by tapping into a much bigger source of money from customs revenues, which the government said it was saving just in case it was needed for things like child nutrition programs. But yesterday, the judge wasn't having it. He said it defies belief that the administration would prioritize a hypothetical need over the, quote, "very real and imminent (ph) risk of children being deprived of their food assistance today."
MART脥NEZ: Now, what are you hearing from the administration and from the groups that brought the lawsuit to get the SNAP money reinstated?
SMITH: So a spokesperson for the Agriculture Department, which administers SNAP, blamed Democrats for the lapse in benefits, accusing them of using the shutdown as leverage for their political agenda. And on the other side, the cities and nonprofits that brought the case to court were celebrating the judge's order, calling it a major victory until the government appealed. As one leader of an antihunger group put it, the thrill didn't last long. And the fear is now that it could still be a while before this gets resolved.
MART脥NEZ: So what about today's deadline to restore funding? It sounds like not a lot of time to do a lot of stuff.
SMITH: Yes. And just to note, the deadline today is for the government to get the money to states, which is just step one. So even if they manage that, it's hard to imagine the money could get all the way to individuals so quickly. Remember, the administration had said reducing benefits is complicated and could take weeks or months. So now it's unclear if any processing that was done now needs to be undone, and the government may seek to stay the judge's order while the appeal plays out. So meantime, millions of people are still left trying to scrape by with whatever they can afford and whatever they can get at food pantries, for example, which are already straining to keep up with demand.
MART脥NEZ: NPR's Tovia Smith. Thank you, Tovia.
SMITH: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR鈥檚 programming is the audio record.
