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NY attorney general sues Trump administration to resume SNAP payouts
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 28, 2025
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Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 28, 2025
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New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the Trump administration to force it to continue paying food stamp benefits next week despite the government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, said it’ll pause payments on Saturday and won’t use contingency funds to cover the costs.
In her lawsuit, James said the USDA is legally obligated to utilize contingency funds for payments.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, helps 40 million Americans afford their groceries, including 3 million New Yorkers.
“SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools to fight hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running,” James said in a statement. "There is no excuse for this administration to abandon families who rely on SNAP, or food stamps, as a lifeline. The federal government must do its job to protect families.”
A USDA spokesperson blamed Senate Democrats in a statement, calling the moment an inflection point: “continue to hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC [Women, Infants and Children] and SNAP allotments.”
James joined 24 other states and the District of Columbia in filing the lawsuit in the U.S District Court in Massachusetts.
The attorneys general argued the USDA is legally required to make monthly payments as long as it has funding and are asking the court to intervene before benefits are paused on Nov. 1. James said Congress appropriated money specifically to keep benefits going during funding lapses.
SNAP helps about 1.8 million people in New York City, 500,000 of whom are children. Of the 3 million people who get SNAP benefits statewide, about 1 million are children. New Yorkers statewide receive $650 million in SNAP benefits a month.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she was expediting $41 million in grant funding for food pantries, but she said the state can’t cover the gap left by the federal SNAP budget.
The lawsuit argues the administration’s actions are “arbitrary and capricious” and the USDA has $6 billion in emergency funding it can use.
The other states that joined the suit include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.
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new york city
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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