California Sues Trump Administration Over Suspension of SNAP Benefits During Shutdown

California and 21 other states are suing the Trump administration over its move to suspend food stamp benefits during the ongoing government shutdown.

The lawsuit, announced Tuesday morning by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, marks the 45th time this year that California has taken the Trump administration to court over its policies, often joined by other Democratic governors and attorneys general. Many of those lawsuits, like this one, challenge moves by the White House to withhold funding to California and other states.

This lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, alleges that the U.S. Department of Agriculture still has sufficient funds to continue administering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits despite the government shutdown. It asks the court for a temporary restraining order to halt the suspension, set to take effect Nov. 1.

“For the first time ever, SNAP benefits will not be available to the millions of low-income individuals who depend on them to put food on the table,” Bonta said. “With the holidays around the corner, we are seeing costs for groceries continue to increase and food banks facing unprecedented demand. We are taking a stand because families will experience hunger and malnutrition if the Trump administration gets its way.”

About 5.5 million Californians rely on SNAP benefits, which are distributed as debit cards to people making less than the federal poverty line — about $31,000 for a family of four. Last year, Bonta said, 41 million Americans benefited from SNAP, most of them families with children and many of them disabled or elderly. In California, the SNAP program is known as CalFresh.

The Trump administration has sought to blame Democrats for the shutdown and the suspension of SNAP benefits. Last week, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told KQED in a statement that Democrats could choose to end the shutdown at any time by supporting a continuing resolution to extend federal appropriations, and a banner now at the top of the USDA’s website accuses Democrats of keeping the government closed as they “hold out for health care for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures.”

The lawsuit alleges that the USDA’s Oct. 24 decision to suspend SNAP benefits, despite having $6 billion in contingency funds available, contradicts the agency’s earlier statements that it could use those funds during the government shutdown. And it notes that USDA has never before chosen to cut off benefits during a government shutdown.

“While Donald Trump parades around the world trying to repair the economic damage he’s done with his incompetence, he’s denying food to millions of Americans who will go hungry next month,” Newsom said in a statement. “It’s cruel and speaks to his basic lack of humanity. He doesn’t care about the people of this country, only himself.”