It took the courts and bold and aggressive leaders from various states to make sure people who use food stamps get the benefits they need. Thankfully, Washington was one of those states.
After weeks of threats from the Trump administration that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could not and would not provide food stamps for 42 million people, federal courts ended up having the final say.
Despite two federal judges ordering President Donald Trump to use a contingency fund to ensure at least some food stamp benefits are reinstated, he stood in defiance. On his Truth Social media platform he said he was not going to fund SNAP until the government shutdown ended. After more than six weeks, and a vote by Congress, the longest government shutdown ended.
But before that, Trump’s administration offered to fund SNAP by 50%, then issued an offer that would cut funding by 35%. But those offers weren’t good enough for U.S. District Judge John McConnell. On Nov. 6, he ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP, and cited Trump’s social media post that said he would not fund SNAP, in his ruling.
After McConnell issued his ruling, Washington state released $115 million of federal SNAP dollars to Washington recipients, with a promise to release $48.5 million before Nov. 28. That was in addition to the $2.2 million Gov. Bob Ferguson promised the state would send to food banks each week in November.
Not to let the court decision stand without another fight, the Department of Agriculture issued a memo that directed states to “immediately undo” whatever measures they took to issue full November SNAP benefits. But it was too late. Washington, Oregon, New York and Pennsylvania were among the states that rushed to release the aid.
About 900,000 Washingtonians receive benefits through SNAP. Many of them are children, seniors, veterans and disabled people. The government shutdown left millions without paychecks that undoubtedly put many in the hole financially. Even still, some continued to perform their jobs.
As for the $2.2 million set to go to food banks, Ferguson’s office said, “The transfers will continue weekly until SNAP funding is restored.”
That’s good news. Often in political battles, the poor and most vulnerable suffer the most. State leaders and judges did not let that happen.
