Either President Donald Trump is really playing that 4D underwater chess we keep talking about, or he’s one of the luckiest politicians in recent memory. Perhaps both.
Whatever the case, thanks to rulings from two judges, Trump can say this to struggling Americans: I paid your food stamps before Thanksgiving, and the Democrats wouldn’t.
As Fox Business reported, the Trump administration announced Monday that they were going to be allocating $4.65 billion of its contingency fund to keep Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits running.
Patrick Penn, a senior official with the United States Department of Agriculture — which oversees the SNAP program — told the court that there might be delays and reduced payments. The USDA’s contingency fund, which is being used to pay the benefits, cannot cover both the full amount and the overhead.
“There are procedural difficulties that states will likely experience which would affect November SNAP benefits reaching households in a timely manner and in the correctly reduced amounts,” Penn told a Rhode Island judge.
Department of Justice lawyers told U.S. District Judge John McConnell that the administration had “worked diligently to comply with the Court’s order on the short timeline provided by the Court and during a government shutdown” in a filing Monday.
McConnell had ruled that the court “must distribute the contingency money timely, or as soon as possible.”
Now, it’s worth noting that the administration had initially questioned the legality of using the contingency funds for this purpose; as Penn pointed out, there are still downsides.
“This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” he said.
However, once it was effectively cleared by judges last week, Trump embraced the plan, saying that “it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”
“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” he said via Truth Social.
“Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible. It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed through the monthly payment date and, even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out.
“If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay.”
Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post 06:10 PM EST 10/31/25
Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. I do NOT want Americans…
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 31, 2025
Should SNAP be funded during the shutdown?
Appropriate legal direction having been given, the Trump administration has acted. And herein lies the messaging he comes away with, if he plays it right: Democrats voted to starve less-fortunate Americans during Thanksgiving to keep alive a broken health-care program, while he made sure it got funded and didn’t fight the court’s ruling.
Of course, it would have been better — Trump can say — if the Democrats cared so much about the struggles of the poor they claim to love so much (especially single moms and minorities) that they voted to reopen the government.
They did not.
When voters go to the polls next November — and every November for the foreseeable future — they should be reminded about what Democrats’ priorities were during this November. Rest assured, those priorities will stay that way. They don’t care if minorities starve just so long as they get their political W. It’s almost like the left is handing the MAGA movement a wider base.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
