Live updates: The latest on the government shutdown as it disrupts flights and food aid benefits | CNN Politics
The US Department of Agriculture on Saturday ordered states to cease issuing full food stamp benefits.
It’s the latest move in a month of uncertainty over the fate of the program during the government shutdown. For weeks, the 42 million Americans who rely on food stamp benefits have gotten inconsistent cues as lawsuits over distributing the aid have worked their way through federal courts.
Here’s a timeline of the back-and-forth since the government shutdown began on October 1:
October 10: The Department of Agriculture indicates it will not tap into contingency funds to supply the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which nearly 42 million Americans rely on, and tells states to not issue benefits for November.
October 16: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins tells reporters that the program will run out of money in two weeks.
October 28: A coalition of 25 Democratic-run states sue the Trump administration to keep SNAP benefit funds flowing.
October 30: A coalition of cities, nonprofits, unions and small businesses file a lawsuit against the Trump administration to distribute food assistance.
October 31: Two federal judges order the Trump administration to use the emergency funds to at least partially cover food stamp benefits.
November 1: SNAP benefits were scheduled to begin distribution, but still face delays for the Department of Agriculture and states to get money flowing again.
November 3: The Trump administration says it will provide only half of the normal food stamp benefits for the month by tapping into the program’s contingency fund.
November 4: After a threat from Trump to withhold assistance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tells reporters that she spoke with the president and that the administration would be “fully complying” with a court order to keep some benefits flowing.
November 5: The USDA issues revised guidance to states that will result in food stamp enrollees receiving somewhat larger partial benefits.
November 6: A federal judge in Rhode Island says the Trump administration must fully cover food stamp benefits. The administration quickly appealed the new order, as well as the judge’s ruling from the previous week.
November 7: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused a lower court order that required the Trump administration to cover full food stamp benefits. Jackson’s “administrative stay” freezes any additional action by the administration to give an appeals court additional time to review the case. It’s unclear how the case will ultimately impact the billions of dollars spent in federal SNAP funding.
November 8: Following Jackson’s stay, the US Department of Agriculture ordered states to cease issuing full food stamp benefits and to “immediately undo” steps taken to issue full benefits for the month of November. In the Saturday directive, the USDA warned states that failed to comply could face a cancellation of federal cost-sharing of SNAP.
CNN’s Devan Cole, Tami Luhby, Marshall Cohen, Sarah Ferris, John Fritze and Adam Cancryn contributed reporting.
