25 states, including New Mexico, sue Trump admin over SNAP benefits
On Tuesday, more than two dozen states, including New Mexico, and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts suing the Trump administration over the impending loss of SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown.
About 42 million Americans are poised to lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits when federal funding comes to a halt on Nov. 1. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said it would not use emergency funds to give a lifeline to program funding. The states are seeking to have the court order USDA to use all available funds to keep SNAP benefits funded in November.
"Suspending SNAP benefits in these circumstances is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act," the lawsuit reads. "USDA's suspension of SNAP benefits is irreparably harming Plaintiff States -- a harm that increases every day SNAP benefits are delayed."
The states suing the administration are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin as well as the District of Columbia.
