‘People Need to Eat’: Oregon Sues Trump Administration for Halting Food Assistance During Shutdown

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and three governors in a lawsuit yesterday against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Oregon Sues Trump Administration Over SNAP Suspension

When the new federal fiscal year began on October 1 without an appropriation from Congress to fund the federal government, it triggered a “government shutdown.”

On October 10, USDA told state SNAP agencies that if the shutdown continues, there will not be enough funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the roughly 42 million people across the country who rely on them to buy food.

USDA’s claim of insufficient funds ignores the fact that the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this exact purpose. Other programs were given emergency funds during this shutdown, but USDA has refused to fund SNAP.

AG Rayfield said, “It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program.”

In the meantime, Oregon officials have demanded that USDA take action to safeguard SNAP benefits during the shutdown, but the impasse persists. AG Rayfield confirmed that suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is contrary to law, arbitrary, and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. Congress has clearly said SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown, and USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise.

In the lawsuit, the coalition will also file a motion for a temporary restraining order, seeking an immediate restoration of benefits.

AG Rayfield said, “This isn’t complicated – people need to eat.”