Judge orders Trump administration to use child nutrition funds to issue full SNAP benefits

Published November 6, 2025 6:58pm ET



A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to issue full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits by Friday using funds intended for child nutrition after chastising officials for not issuing partial benefits quickly enough.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell told Department of Justice lawyers during a hearing Thursday that they “did not comply” with his ruling last week in which he told the administration to at least issue partial SNAP benefits by Wednesday using the SNAP contingency fund. During the hearing, McConnell demanded the administration tap into the Section 32 Child Nutrition Fund to issue full benefits by Friday.

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