Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that food stamp benefits could restart as soon as Wednesday after two federal judges ruled the Trump administration must tap into a contingency fund.
The Trump administration said it would run out of funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on Nov. 1 amid the government shutdown. But the federal judges ruled the administration must utilize a contingency fund to keep paying out benefits to SNAP recipients, although when those funds will be released is still an open question.
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CNN host Jake Tapper pointed out that the court said at least a partial payment needs to be made by Wednesday. Bessent was asked if payments might be disbursed by Wednesday, and he said it “could be.” He also said the Trump administration doesn’t intend to appeal the ruling.
“No, but there’s a process that has to be followed, so we got to figure out what the process is,” Bessent said. “President Trump wants to make sure that people get their food benefits.”
“Five Democratic senators could cross the aisle and open the government by Wednesday,” the Treasury secretary added in reference to the ongoing standoff in the Senate over reopening the government.
Trump himself has said he wants to see the SNAP benefits returned and, in a Friday social media post, said he has told government lawyers to work toward getting the SNAP funds disbursed.
“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” Trump said. “Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
“It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed through the monthly payment date and, even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out,” he continued. “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay.”
SNAP FUNDS PAUSE COULD BE PAINFUL HIT TO GROCERS
The House has already passed a “clean” continuing resolution, which would reopen the government, but the Senate also needs to approve the measure and must overcome the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold to reopen the government.
Democrats are demanding the reinstatement of expiring Obamacare subsidies and trying to use the opportunity as leverage to secure concessions from the GOP on the matter.
