Washington joined more than two dozen states in suing the Trump administration over its decision to suspend funding for the federal food stamp program during the ongoing government shutdown, a move that could leave millions of Americans without food assistance starting Nov. 1.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, asks a federal judge to force the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use available emergency funds to continue payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides monthly food aid to about 42 million people nationwide.
The coalition includes 25 states and the District of Columbia. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown joined counterparts from California, Massachusetts, Arizona, Minnesota and others in arguing that the USDA’s decision violates federal law and will cause “irreparable harm” to low-income families who rely on the program to buy groceries.
Roughly 900,000 people in Washington — about 11 percent of the state’s population — depend on SNAP benefits, which amount to more than $150 million in federal food assistance each month, according to the lawsuit.
The state contributes an additional $130 million annually to help administer the program but said it lacks the resources to keep it running without federal support.
The lawsuit says Washington could be forced to lay off about half of its staff who manage SNAP benefits if federal funds don’t arrive, and warns that families could go hungry while food banks are already struggling to meet demand.
The complaint alleges that the Trump administration abruptly reversed course after previously assuring states that SNAP operations could continue using multi-year contingency funds.
Those reserves — estimated at $5 billion to $6 billion — were set aside by Congress for use “in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations,” according to the lawsuit.
Instead, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins directed state agencies on Oct. 24 to “suspend all November 2025 benefit allotments until such time as sufficient federal funding is provided.”
A prior Oct. 10 memo had already instructed states to hold off on sending benefit data to vendors that load funds onto recipients’ EBT cards.
The lawsuit argues that the USDA’s interpretation of the law — claiming the contingency fund could not be used without new appropriations — is “arbitrary and capricious.”
The states say that SNAP has continued through every previous government shutdown and that Congress intended the program’s reserve fund to prevent precisely this kind of lapse.
SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, provides an average benefit of about $187 per person each month.
In Washington, many families, children, seniors and people with disabilities depend on it to avoid hunger.
A delay in benefits, state officials say, could drive more people to food banks and emergency shelters, increasing pressure on local aid systems.
Some states have already begun redirecting emergency funds to offset the loss.
California has advanced $80 million to food banks, and Minnesota has approved $4 million in emergency funding.
Washington said it does not have the resources to do the same.
According to the New York Times, the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The USDA posted a banner on its website Tuesday blaming Senate Democrats for the funding lapse, saying, “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”
The states are asking the court for an emergency ruling by Friday to compel the USDA to release funds before the November payment cycle begins.
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