Press Statement  AG Campbell Issues Statement After Federal Government Demands States Claw Back Full SNAP Benefits

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today issued the following statement after the Trump Administration demanded states reverse full SNAP benefits that were already issued following a court ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.  

“Last week, a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to fully fund SNAP, recognizing the additional delays and hardship the federal government caused with their decision to shortchange the program,” said AG Campbell. “Now that Massachusetts has issued full benefits – something the federal government should have done in the first place – the President is trying to claw back those resources from children, elderly, veterans, and people with disabilities who desperately need them. My office will not let this administration continue to use Massachusetts residents’ lives as a political bargaining chip. This chaos and confusion must stop. We’ll see them in Court.” 

After a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump Administration to fully fund the SNAP program, USDA sent guidance to states indicating that it was complying with the court order. At the same time, the Administration asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to block the lower court’s ruling. This request for an administrative stay was denied. USDA then filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court, which ultimately issued an administrative stay blocking the Administration from having to implement full SNAP benefits. Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Massachusetts had already instructed SNAP vendors to issue full SNAP benefits to recipients, in compliance with the lower court’s orders and USDA’s own guidance. 

On October 28, AG Campbell co-led a coalition of 25 other states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for unlawfully suspending the SNAP program due to the ongoing government shutdown.