On Friday, the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order requiring it to distribute November’s full SNAP benefits amid the GOP government shutdown. But that didn't work out well for the administration that seems to be actively trying to starve the American people.
Trump's dream of turning the U.S. into a corporate feudalistic society with everyday Americans as serfs hit a barrier, thanks to U.S. District Judge John McConnell, who admonished the Trump administration for agreeing to fund just 65% of the SNAP benefits. "It’s likely that SNAP recipients are hungry as we sit here," McConnell said Thursday shortly before issuing the new order, which gave the USDA less than 24 hours to comply.
Then the Trump administration turned to the Supreme Court to block the order requiring full funding of SNAP food aid payments. And they agreed to a delay. This isn't a "let them eat cake" moment. Instead, the American people won't even get cake. However, Justice Jackson's wording is strange.
I get it, but I don't, because children going hungry for a few days is not OK. Jackson's order will remain in place until 48 hours after the appeals court rules, giving the administration time to return to the Supreme Court if the appeals court refuses to step in.
Fox News reports (Yeah, I know, but they did an actual journalism with their article):
Lawyers for the Justice Department asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily stay an injunction handed down one day earlier by a federal judge in Rhode Island. The appeal is the latest in an ongoing court fight over the food aid program that funds 42 million low-income Americans.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday to allocate $4 billion in alternative contingency funds as needed to fully fund the SNAP program through November, noting the urgency of the food aid and the need for distribution.
...
In their filing Friday to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Trump's legal team argued that the lower court order "makes a mockery of the separation of powers," and accused McConnell of overstepping his powers as a federal judge.
"There is no lawful basis for an order that directs USDA to somehow find $4 billion in the metaphorical couch cushions," DOJ lawyers argued, describing his order as an "unprecedented injunction" and one that "makes a mockery of the separation of powers."
"This is a crisis, to be sure, but it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action," they added.
The fuck you say? The administration was trying to claim that it had more power than the courts. And yes, there is a food crisis in the U.S., but it's one that this administration created.
McConnell on Thursday also said the Trump administration had failed to comply with his original order last week, which required USDA to fund the SNAP benefits before its funds were slated to lapse on Nov. 1, the first time ever in the program's 60-year history.
The government "did nothing to ensure that the money would be paid on Wednesday," he said.
The judge also said Trump officials failed to address a known funding distribution problem that could cause SNAP payments to be delayed for weeks or months in some states.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance played tag team to lash out after the federal judge's ruling, saying the administration has to fully implement SNAP. Further, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had a plan to keep SNAP running during a government shutdown by using contingency funds. MAGA Mike Johnson lied about that
Massive lines have built up at food distribution sites, and the last time something like that happened in the US was during Trump's first term.
Here's a more detailed explanation of the ruling:
