Trump Administration Demands Reversal of SNAP Benefits Amid Legal Battle

President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered states to “undo” full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits paid out under recent judicial orders, following a Supreme Court stay on those rulings. This latest development intensifies the ongoing legal struggle over a program that serves 42 million Americans amid the government shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the demand while more than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the federal government fails to reimburse them for benefits they had already authorized before the Supreme Court’s intervention.

The conflict began when nonprofit organizations and Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration in November, seeking to maintain SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. They initially won favorable rulings last week, prompting several states to quickly release full benefits to millions of recipients. At the time, the administration indicated it would comply with the court orders while simultaneously appealing them.

However, the situation changed dramatically Friday night when Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused the rulings mandating full SNAP payments while an appeals court considers the administration’s request to halt the disbursements. Following this development, the Department of Agriculture informed state SNAP directors on Saturday that it now considers the full payments made under the prior court orders “unauthorized.”

“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” wrote Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, in a letter to state SNAP directors. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”

Penn warned that states could face penalties if they failed to comply, though it remains unclear whether this directive applies to states that used their own funds to sustain the program or only to those relying entirely on federal money. In a federal court filing on Sunday, the agency claimed states had acted too hastily in releasing full SNAP benefits after last week’s rulings.

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called the directive “shocking” if it applies to states that used their own resources to maintain the program. “It’s one thing if the federal government is going to continue its level of appeal through the courts to say, no, this can’t be done,” Murkowski said. “But when you are telling the states that have said this is a significant enough issue in our state, we’re going to find resources, backfill or front load, whatever term you want, to help our people, those states should not be penalized.”

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, stated that SNAP benefits were processed and placed on EBT cards before the Supreme Court’s Friday night order, in accordance with previous USDA guidance. She vowed legal action if Trump attempts to reclaim the money: “Massachusetts residents with funds on their cards should continue to spend it on food. President Trump should be focusing on reopening the government that he controls instead of repeatedly fighting to take away food from American families.”

Democrats have criticized Trump for targeting the anti-hunger program during the shutdown, arguing that the administration could have maintained it even with other parts of the government idle. As senators worked through the weekend on a deal to end the stalemate, their bipartisan package included full funding for SNAP programs and provisions to ensure reimbursements for expenditures made during the shutdown.

The situation has created significant confusion for states. Wisconsin, for example, loaded benefits onto cards for 700,000 residents after a Rhode Island judge ordered the restoration of benefits, but now faces uncertainty after the U.S. Treasury froze its reimbursements. Governor Tony Evers’ administration warned it could run out of money by Monday, potentially leaving vendors unpaid and triggering legal claims.

In response to the administration’s demand to reverse the payments, Evers was blunt: “No. Pursuant to and consistent with an active court order, Wisconsin legally loaded benefits to cards, ensuring nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including nearly 270,000 kids, had access to basic food and groceries.”

Maryland Governor Wes Moore expressed frustration over the inconsistent guidance from the federal government. “In the past six days, we’ve received four different measures of guidance,” Moore said during a CBS interview. “There is a chaos, and it is an intentional chaos, that we are seeing from this administration.”

As the legal battle continues, millions of SNAP recipients face uncertainty about whether their benefits will remain available during the ongoing government shutdown.