Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison says a ruling by two federal judges to keep Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits funded shows that there are ways for the Trump administration to feed the hungry while the government is shut down.
Friday's decisions by Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell and Massachusetts District Judge Indira Talwani came just before the Department of Agriculture planned to halt payments to the program.
President Trump says he's instructed White House lawyers to ask courts to provide clarity and legal direction on how to fund SNAP.
If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding," Trump wrote on a social media report, while also blasting Democrats for not reopening the government.
SNAP serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a key part of the social safety net.
Minnesota is one of 28 states that filed suit that a contingency fund set aside by Congress should be used for the food stamp program.
The announcement of the potential freeze had caused concern among states, food banks, and recipients.
It's unclear how quickly benefits can be reloaded onto debit cards, a process that usually takes one to two weeks.
The Trump administration argued that money needed to be set aside in case of a natural disaster, like a hurricane.
About 440,000 Minnesotans use SNAP benefits, including 152,000 children.
Those benefits likely won't be available through the weekend as the Trump administration asks for a clarification of the ruling.
In a statement posted on social media, Minnesota senior US Senator Amy Klobuchar said the president has no excuse to withhold food assistance.
She added if the administration didn't take this step, it would have been purely a cruel political decision, not a legal one.
The SNAP program has been a major piece of the U.S. social safety network since it launched as the food stamp program in 1964.
It’s been in the spotlight like never before since President Trump’s administration announced in October that it would not fund benefits in November due to a government shutdown.
The program serves low-income people.
The money is loaded onto debit cards that can be used only for groceries and plants and seeds for gardens.
Work requirements for the benefits are becoming more stringent and some states are about to start barring the purchase of soda and candy with the benefits.