Trump says ready to continue Snap food aid, doesn’t want Americans to go hungry
The US president’s comments come after two judges ordered his administration to keep paying for the programme despite the shutdown
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he did not want Americans to “go hungry” and was ready to maintain funding for food aid a day before some 42 million people would lose their monthly assistance.
In a lengthy social media post, Trump said “Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits once funding expires on November 1 during the ongoing government shutdown, but added that he has instructed them to “clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible”.
He added: “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”
Earlier on Friday, two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously that the Trump administration must continue to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme, the nation’s biggest food aid programme, using contingency funds during the government shutdown.
The US Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to Snap because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown.
The programme serves about one in every eight Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net.