Press Release  AG Campbell Sues Trump Administration for Illegally Suspending SNAP Benefits

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell co-led a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors today in filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million  Americans buy food, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. 

 “More than one million people in Massachusetts rely on SNAP to put food on the table,” said AG Campbell. “Despite having the money to fund SNAP, the Trump Administration is creating needless fear, angst and harm for millions of families and their children especially as we approach the holidays. It is past time for the Trump Administration to act to help, rather than harm, those who rely on our government.” 

On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a “government shutdown.”  

On October 10, USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the approximately 42 million individuals across the country that rely on them.  

 Despite USDA’s claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this very purpose. Furthermore, USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program. 

The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country, who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families. This lapse also will put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap. It will affect our school systems and college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating our students. Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity. 

 In Massachusetts, more than one million people are expected to lose food benefits this week as a result of the USDA’s decision. Nearly 60% of SNAP beneficiaries are either children under 17 or seniors, and an additional 31% are people with disabilities, meaning the populations most directly impacted by this decision are kids, elders, and those who are differently abled. 

While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state. Suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. Congress has clearly indicated that SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown, and USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise. The coalition will also be filing a temporary restraining order later today asking the Court to immediately turn benefits back on. 

Joining AG Campbell in filing this lawsuit, which she co-led with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, and Minnesota, are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined.  

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