Yikes! States Scramble Over Next Steps As Trump Administration Pushes To Reverse SNAP Payments (UPDATE)

And the SNAP showdown continues! States administering food payments to about 42 million Americans faced uncertainty on Monday (November 10). Officials are unclear whether they can — and should — provide full monthly benefits during an ongoing legal battle involving the U.S. government shutdown. For context, 41 days in, the shutdown is the longest in U.S. history.

RELATED: Trump Administration Orders States To “Undo” November SNAP Payments Amid Shutdown (UPDATE)

What Happened This Past Weekend With SNAP Payments?

Over the weekend, the Trump administration demanded that states “undo” the full benefits paid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This occurred during a one-day window between when a federal judge ordered full funding and a Supreme Court justice put a temporary pause on that order.

Now, a federal appeals court is considering whether to impose a longer halt to the full benefits. Meanwhile, Congress is considering whether to fund SNAP as part of a proposal to end the government shutdown.

Recap Of The Legal Tussle Over Food Stamps

For context, the Trump administration initially stated that SNAP benefits would not be available in November due to the government shutdown. After some states and nonprofit groups sued, two judges each ruled the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely. The administration then said it would use an emergency reserve fund to provide 65% of the maximum monthly benefit. But, on Thursday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said that wasn’t good enough, and ordered full funding for SNAP benefits by Friday.

Some states acted quickly to direct their EBT vendors to disburse full monthly benefits to SNAP recipients. Millions of people in those states received funds to buy groceries before Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put Judge McConnell’s order on hold Friday night. Jackson decision is pending further deliberation by an appeals court.

States Are Stepping Up, But Will That Lead To Chaos?

Some states are warning of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they already authorized. Other states are providing partial monthly SNAP benefits with federal money or using their own funds to load electronic benefit cards for SNAP recipients. Still, millions have not received SNAP payments for November. That’s because their states were waiting on further guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP.

Meanwhile, Trump’s administration has argued that the judicial order to provide full benefits violates the Constitution. They claim the order infringes on the spending power of the legislative and executive branches. On Sunday, the Trump administration said states had moved too quickly and incorrectly released full SNAP benefits after last week’s rulings.

“States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, wrote to state SNAP directors.

Penn warned that states could face penalties if they did not comply. Wisconsin was among the first to load full benefits after Judge McConnell’s order. Since then, its federal reimbursement has been frozen. As a result, Wisconsin’s SNAP account could be depleted as early as Monday. That would leave no money to reimburse stores that sell food to SNAP recipients, according to a court filing submitted by states that sued.

Some Democratic governors have vowed to challenge any federal attempt to claw back SNAP money. In Connecticut, for example, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said “those who received their benefits should not worry about losing them.”

“No, Connecticut does not need to take back SNAP benefits already sent to the 360,000 people who depend on them for food and who should have never been caught in the middle of this political fight,” Lamont said. “We have their back.”

RELATED: Tyler Perry Donates $1.4M To Organizations Helping Families On SNAP As Supreme Court Halts Order For Benefits To Be Fully Funded

Associated Press writers David A. Lieb, Geoff Mulvihill, Scott Bauer, John Hanna and Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.