Press Release  AG Campbell Demands Answers From Trump Administration On SNAP Funding Due To Lapse At End Of Month

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and 22 other attorneys general today sent a letter to the Secretary of the USDA Brooke Rollins demanding action and information on how USDA plans to proceed after alerting states that funding for critical nutrition programs may lapse in the near future because of the ongoing federal government shutdown. The letter also details the grave harm that will be caused to children, seniors, and veterans who rely on food assistance for their daily meals. 

“The federal government is making a deliberate and unprecedented choice to neglect to feed American families,” said AG Campbell. “This decision is cruel and shameful, and I urge the President to take immediate action to restore benefits and ensure millions of Americans, including children, do not go hungry.”  

On October 10, 2025, USDA issued a letter to all state agencies and state agency directors that administer the SNAP program. The letter indicated that “if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation.” It also “direct[ed] States to hold their November issuance files and delay transmission to State EBT vendors until further notice,” including “on-going SNAP benefits and daily files.” 

In other words, without citing any legal authority or providing any reasoning, USDA prohibited states like Massachusetts from taking the critical administrative steps that are necessary for SNAP benefits to be available in November. USDA’s October 10 letter does not indicate that any of the legal requirements to reduce, suspend, or cancel SNAP benefits have been met. 

In addition, USDA appears to have as much as $6 billion in SNAP contingency reserve funds that Congress appropriated for emergency situations like this. The attorneys general argue the federal government should use those funds to continue providing SNAP benefits rather than suspending already-calculated benefits. Furthermore, USDA also has access to other agency funds that could be used to provide SNAP benefits during the ongoing shutdown. 

The attorneys general further argue that if carried out, USDA’s October 10 directive will cause significant hardship for the 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP to feed themselves and their families. Even a temporary delay will have devastating effects on the American public and the national economy. 

In Massachusetts, more than one million people are set to lose food benefits starting next week. The populations most directly impacted are children, people with disabilities, and seniors. Children ages 0-17 make up 32 percent of SNAP recipients in Massachusetts, while people with disabilities make up 31 percent and seniors make up 26 percent.  

The letter sent by the attorneys general asks USDA to answer the following critical questions by October 27, 2025: 

• Does USDA have contingency funds left over from prior Congressional appropriations?  If so, what is the total of those contingency funds?
• Does USDA have access to any other sources of available funds to pay benefits and administrative costs associated with issuing those benefits? 
• Does USDA intend to use such funds to furnish SNAP benefits, even at a reduced level?  If not, why not? And if so, how does the agency intend to execute that plan, and when would States be expected to send their benefit issuance files?
• Assuming USDA has contingency funds, on what grounds did the agency direct States to “hold” November files, rather than reducing allotments consistent with available funds?
• Should States treat the October 10 letter as a “suspension” of benefits or a “cancellation” of benefits under 7 C.F.R. § 271.7, or neither? 

AG Campbell was joined in sending this letter by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. 

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