Judge considers demand to force the government to keep funding SNAP food aid despite the shutdown
October 30, 2025
A federal judge in Boston is considering a motion that would require the Trump administration to continue funding the SNAP food aid program despite the government shutdown. The hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani came two days before the day the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to stop replenishing accounts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Talwani says she expects to issue her ruling later Thursday. SNAP is used by 1 in 8 Americans to buy groceries and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. Democratic state officials challenged the Trump administration’s plan to freeze SNAP payments starting Nov. 1, saying the federal government has a legal obligation to keep providing the assistance.