The Department of Agriculture is demanding that states immediately “undo” any work they have done to send out SNAP benefits, more commonly known as food stamps, according to a memo first reported by the New York Times.
This directive comes as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins appeals a judge’s order requiring her to start releasing some SNAP funds to states despite the ongoing government shutdown.
A coalition of churches, community centers, and labor unions sued Secretary Rollins at the end of October after she refused to tap into an emergency fund designed to keep SNAP benefits flowing during a shutdown. A judge in Rhode Island ordered her to release these funds. However, in an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, Secretary Rollins requested that the order be put on hold. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted this request.
In a memo sent to states on Saturday night, the Department of Agriculture stated that any state that has already disbursed full SNAP benefits must reverse those actions. The memo reads:
“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized. Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
Instead, the USDA says states may proceed with SNAP payments at a 35 percent reduction. This was the department’s original position before the Rhode Island judge ordered full benefits to be distributed.
The Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The memo also warns states about potential consequences for noncompliance. “Failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the Federal share of State administrative costs and holding States liable for any overissuances that result from the noncompliance,” the department said.
The legal battle is now headed back to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, where the Trump administration is appealing Judge John McConnell’s order to pay full SNAP benefits. However, this case could become moot if the government reopens in the coming days.
This SNAP payment dispute has put more than 40 million Americans across over 20 million households at risk of losing their food stamp benefits for the month.
Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture told Judge McConnell in a legal filing that it was working to distribute partial benefits. However, President Trump later threatened to withhold all funds in defiance of the judge’s order.
On his Truth Social platform, the president wrote:
“SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly ‘handed’ to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”
Within hours, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified the statement, telling reporters that the president was referring to any future shutdowns, not the current one.
Later that day, a political appointee at the Department of Agriculture confirmed in a filing to Judge McConnell that partial benefits were being sent out to states.
https://www.nysun.com/article/trump-administration-orders-states-to-claw-back-food-stamp-payments-as-agriculture-department-appeals-lawsuit