Media Contact:
Colleen Barton
cbarton@frac.org
703-203-7843
Statement attributable to Crystal FitzSimons, president, Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2025 — The Trump administration has once again shown its disregard for the well-being of children, people with disabilities, veterans, and working class Americans by continuing the long, chaotic, and unnecessary delay in distributing November SNAP benefits to the millions of people who rely on the program to put food on the table.
After a district court ruled in favor of providing full November SNAP benefits, the Trump administration appealed the ruling three times. It asked for a stay to the district court and appeals court, which was denied, and then to the Supreme Court, where Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson responded by temporarily halting the court order on Friday night.
Adding to the chaos and confusion, a number of states had already legally moved forward to provide benefits based on the district court’s ruling and USDA’s Friday guidance that said it was working to distribute the benefits. The cruel and harsh reality of the administration announcing it would provide full benefits while working behind the scenes to stop them means that families in some states have now received the much needed support that SNAP provides, and we applaud those states for responding so quickly, while millions of others continue to miss out.
The Trump administration all along has had both the power and the authority to ensure that SNAP benefits continued uninterrupted, but chose not to act and to actively fight against providing this essential support. Meanwhile, millions of Americans already struggling to make ends meet have been left scrambling to feed their families. Families and states are experiencing undue stress and anxiety with confusing messages coming from the administration. The Trump administration’s decision to continue to fight against providing SNAP benefits furthers the unprecedented humanitarian crisis driven by the loss of the nation’s most important and effective anti-hunger program. For more, see FRAC’s blog, The Trump Administration’s Refusal to Feed American Families, and Timeline of Trump Adminstration Failure to Fund SNAP Benefits.
This delay sends a troubling message: the Trump administration is not interested in addressing the urgent needs of people who are struggling in this country, and instead has chosen to prolong this unnecessary hardship. As we get close to honoring our veterans, it is important to remember their service and acknowledge that more than 1 million veterans participate in SNAP.
SNAP helps ensure that struggling families and individuals have access to the nutrition they need to thrive. The program has also lifted millions of Americans out of poverty while boosting revenues for food retailers and farmers and stimulating local economies.
Given all of SNAP’s strengths, it is not surprising that a recent survey found that nearly 80 percent of voters across party lines want the Trump administration to use emergency funds to pay for November SNAP benefits, with 78 percent of voters across party lines having a favorable opinion of SNAP.
We urge the Trump administration to reconsider the path it has chosen, prioritize the health and well-being of the millions of people who rely on SNAP, and use the funding that they have always had to provide SNAP benefits today.
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The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.