(Adnkronos) – Federal judge John McConnell has ordered the Trump administration to fully restore the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food subsidies, the so-called ‘food stamps’, which help 42 million low-income Americans, starting today. “People have been doing without for too long, not making these payments for even another day is simply unacceptable,” added the judge, who had already ordered the Trump administration last week to use billions in emergency funds to finance these essential programs for the survival of millions of Americans during the shutdown.
“Without payment for the month of November, 16 million children risk starvation, this should not happen in America,” he stated. The Trump administration blocked food stamps, claiming it did not have the authority to draw on emergency funds to finance them, even though these funds have been used to pay the military. The judge last week declared the administration’s lawyers’ position unfounded and has now attacked Trump for “asserting the intent to defy the court order, saying that food stamp payments will only be made when the government reopens”.
After last weekend’s order, the administration only partially funded the programs, and now the Department of Justice has appealed against McConnell’s new order. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance lashed out against an “absurd” ruling, “because a federal judge practically tells us what we have to do during a shutdown caused by Democrats”.
