The Trump administration said Monday it will send out partial payments to the tens of millions of Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits – but not all of the normal funds for families relying on the resource.
The administration said in a court filing that it would “fulfill its obligation to expend” funds during an emergency, using a reserve to cover “50% of eligible households’ current allotments.”
As the showdown over the essential program played out over the weekend, President Donald Trump called on Democrats to abandon a push for expanded health care subsidies and vote for GOP-backed legislation to reopen the government.
Voting for the short-term Republican bill, which would continue spending at current levels while lawmakers work on longer term appropriations, would also allow full SNAP benefits to be paid out, the president said.
Trump previously instructed government lawyers to find out how the benefits could legally be distributed during the shutdown after two courts said the administration could not cut them off.
But even with the partial relief for families across the country, the stalemate between Republicans and Democrats over federal funding has continued with no end in sight. As of Monday, the federal shutdown that began on Oct. 1 hit day 34, putting it one day short of the record-setting government closure in 2019.
Thune ‘optimistic’ shutdown could end this week
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Monday he’s “optimistic” that the government shutdown could come to an end this week.
Thune said that lawmakers are “getting close to an off-ramp here,” according to reports.
“The objective here is to try and get something that we could send back to the House that would open up the government,” he said.
Lawmakers could try to pass legislation known as a continuing resolution, which would reopen the government’s doors until a specific date. The House’s temporary funding bill, which the Senate has repeatedly rejected, would extend funding through Nov. 21.
“As you look at the calendar, if you want to do normal appropriations work, you look at how long it takes to get bills across the floor in the Senate and through the House, the longer sort of runway there is better,” Thune told reporters, according to CBS News. “But I’m certainly listening to our colleagues and trying to figure out kind of where the landing spot would be.”
Still when speaking on the Senate floor on Monday, Thune said he was going to put forth the House-passed continuing resolution to have senators vote on it again on Tuesday.
– Rebecca Morin
Trump administration to use emergency funds to partially pay for SNAP
The Trump administration said it plans to partially fund SNAP after two federal judges ruled the U.S. Department of Agriculture must use its contingency funds to cover food stamps during the government shutdown.
In a federal court filing Monday, the administration said the USDA is complying with the order and “will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today.”
The department said it currently has $4.65 billion in SNAP contingency funds, which is about half of the $9.2 billion Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said SNAP will cost in November. The contingency funds will be enough to cover “50% of eligible households’ current allotments,” the administration said
“This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” Patrick Penn, deputy under secretary for USDA’s Food Nutrition and Consumer Service, said in the court filing.
Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island over the weekend ruled the Trump administration must use the contingency funds to pay for SNAP in a lawsuit brought by more than two dozen Democratic-led states.
Flight delays could worsen as government shutdown drags on
As the shutdown continues with no off-ramp in sight, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is warning that travel impacts are likely to get more severe.
“We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe,” he told ABC News over the weekend. “If the government doesn’t open in the next week or two, we’ll look back as these were the good days, not the bad days.”
So far, flight impacts as a result of the shutdown have been relatively minimal. Many of the delays since the shutdown started have been weather-related, although staffing shortages have triggered isolated delays at some airports as air traffic controllers slowed arrivals rates to keep their flight loads safe and manageable.
Still, as the shutdown continues, flight delays and cancelations could ramp up.
Johnson says he hopes election will change shutdown discussions
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday said he hopes that Democrats will be willing to pass the short-term funding bill after Tuesday’s closely-watched elections.
The governor races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the New York City mayoral race are key elections that could be an early signal for the 2026 midterm elections.
Currently, the House-passed short-term funding bill would reopen the government until Nov. 21. Democrats in the Senate have blocked the bill from passing as they push for expanded healthcare subsidies to be included in the spending agreement.
Johnson said that GOP leaders are “mindful of the calendar” and it’s a matter that they’re “giving all of our attention to.” The House Speaker has previously said he will not bring his chamber back into session until the government shutdown has ended.
“I hope the election tomorrow is a change,” he said, adding that he hopes Democrats will “make the calculation” that the shutdown will not affect their election odds. “Maybe after tomorrow they will come to their common senses again and do the right thing. We certainly pray that is true.”
Johnson: Filibuster is an ‘important safeguard’
As Trump continues to call for the Senate to end the filibuster so they can reopen the government, Johnson said the rule is an “important safeguard” for lawmakers.
“I understand desperate times call for desperate measures. I also understand that traditionally we’ve seen that as an important safeguard,” Johnson said at his weekly press conference.
Johnson said he personally spoke “frankly and honestly” with the president about the matter over the weekend, who he said is “very passionate” about the issue.
“I think what you see in the debate we’re having is a reflection of the anger that we feel, the real desperation that we feel because we want the government to be reopened,” Johnson said. “We want to serve the American people as best we can. Any hindrance to that is something that everybody is looking at very carefully.”
On judge’s SNAP decision, Johnson says he doesn’t see legal avenue
Johnson on Monday said he doesn’t see legally how the contingency fund can be used to restart SNAP benefits despite two federal judges ordering the Trump administration to keep the program running.
Massachusetts federal Judge Indira Talwani is giving the Trump administration until Monday to tell her whether it will authorize at least reduced benefits for November and, if it does, its timeline for determining whether it will also authorize full benefits.
Johnson said he spoke with Trump over the weekend about the decision but that staff within the Trump administration has said the contingency fund cannot be used legally if the underlying funds have been suspended.
“You have two courts, two liberal courts, Obama judges as I understand it who’ve said ‘No, that’s not right, get ‘em paid.’ Well, it’s more complicated than that,” Johnson said at his daily press conference. “It’s not as easy as hitting go send on a computer.”
Johnson said Trump has asked the courts how they can use the funds when all “the legal minds and the number crunchers” are trying to “figure out how this could be done.”
“Give us guidance, we’re glad to do it,” the House speaker said. “So that’s where we are, at this impasse right now. As you know, the president is not appealing this decision. He wants SNAP to be done but he doesn’t see the mechanism to do it.”
Shutdown could soon become longest ever
As of Monday, the shutdown marked the second longest in history (34 days), but is close to tying or surpassing the longest ever.
The longest shutdown took place during Trump’s first term and lasted 35 days (December 2018 to January 2019). During that shutdown, Republicans and Democrats battled over funding Trump’s wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
If the current shutdown reaches Tuesday, Nov. 4 and ends, it will tie for the longest in history. If it reaches Nov. 5 and the 36 day mark, it will become the longest in history.
Will I still receive my Social Security check?
Yes, Social Security payments, including Supplemental Security Income and benefits for retirement, disability and survivors, continue during a government shutdown.
Because Social Security benefit programs are considered mandatory spending by law, they are not impacted by the lapse in funding appropriations. Payments are still distributed on a regular schedule during the shutdown.
Social Security offices are still open during the shutdown, but only some services are available.
– Sudiksha Kochi and Melina Khan
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What have judges said about SNAP benefits for November?
Massachusetts federal Judge Indira Talwani said in a written decision that the government is required to use its contingency funds to the extent they’re needed to keep the SNAP program funded. She also said the administration is allowed to transfer other funds that come from charges on imports to supplement the contingency funds.
Talwani ordered the administration to tell her by Nov. 3 whether it will authorize at least reduced benefits for November and, if it does, its timeline for determining whether it will also authorize full benefits.
Meanwhile, in a short written entry on a case docket Oct. 31, following a court hearing, Rhode Island federal Judge John McConnell ordered the administration to distribute the contingency funds and update him by noon on Nov. 3 on the status of that distribution. The administration followed up on that order with a motion stating that the judge needed to include reasons and better explain what’s required.
McConnell responded with a written order Nov. 1, saying the government needs to use the contingency funds to at least partially fund the November benefits, and has the option of using other available funds. McConnell told the administration to make full payments by Nov. 3, if it plans to use discretionary funds to make that possible. He said if the administration chooses to only make partial payments with the contingency funds, it needs to do that by Nov. 5.
McConnell may have provided an extended deadline for partial payments because the government has said implementing partial payments for the country would require re-working existing systems.
Jeffries hits Trump over SNAP benefit lapse, says Democrats willing to negotiate
The administration has argued it can’t tap into a contingency fund to pay out SNAP benefits while the government has shut down – and the money wouldn’t be enough to cover the month of November even if it could.
Appearing on “State of the Union” on CNN on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Trump and the Republican Party of attempting to “weaponize hunger and withhold SNAP benefits” in the face of court of the rulings that directed them to come up with the money.
“We’re asking Republicans to sit down, as we have indicated our willingness to sit down with them any time, any place, anywhere, either at the Capitol or back at the White House, in order to find a bipartisan path toward enacting a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people,” Jeffries said.
Trump pledges to fix Obamacare – after Democrats agree to end shutdown
Trump repeated his pledge to meet with Democrats to fix the Affordable Care Act, which is known as Obamacare, but said Democrats would have to agree to reopen the government first, during an interview on “60 Minutes” on CBS.
Obamacare premium notices went out Nov. 1 and are projected to double. Most Democrats refuse to reopen the government until subsidies are extended to help people pay those costs.
“It’s bad healthcare at far too high a price,” Trump said. “We should fix that.”
Norah O’Donnell said three-quarters of the people facing premium increases are in states Trump won. But Trump insisted the government must reopen before health care talks begin.
“I’m not going to do it by extortion,” Trump said.
Trump urged the Senate again to end the filibuster to reopen the government
Trump repeated his call for the Senate to end the filibuster, which allows the minority party to block legislation, even though his fellow Republicans want to keep it, during an interview with “60 Minutes” on CBS.
Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, but 60 are required to pass contentious legislation. Democrats have blocked a short-term funding bill to keep the government open by arguing for greater health care funding.
Trump urged Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster. But Thune and other Republicans want to keep the filibuster, to encourage bipartisan compromise and ensure the minority has a voice in debates.
“The Republicans have to get tougher,” Trump said. “I like John Thune. I think he’s terrific, but I disagree with him on this point.”