Trump says 'do NOT want Americans to go hungry’ as judges order him to keep food aid running amid shutdown

Two federal judges on Friday ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to keep paying for the nation’s largest food assistance program during the ongoing government shutdown, temporarily averting what could have been a devastating blow to millions of Americans. The rulings, issued almost simultaneously in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, require the White House to use emergency reserve funds to sustain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through November. The orders came just as Trump, in a Truth Social post, appeared to issue a lifeline for those in need of the benefits, saying that he didn’t want Americans to “go hungry.” Still, he claimed government lawyers told him the administration lacked the “legal authority to pay” SNAP benefits once funding officially expires on November 1.

Trump asks for clarification

More than 42 million low-income Americans depend on the SNAP programme—formerly known as food stamps—for their monthly grocery budget. Trump, in a Truth Social post, said "Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay," but that he has asked them to "clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible".

Despite the court orders, uncertainty remains. The judges gave the administration leeway to decide whether to fund the program in full or partially in November, leaving open the possibility of delayed payments for millions of households whose benefit cards are normally recharged at the start of the month.

Trump also repeated his pledge to sit down with the Democrats over their demands, but only after the shutdown was over. "We'll meet very quickly, but they have to open up the country," he told reporters before blaming the opposition again, "It's their fault. Everything is their fault. It's so easily solved."