DoingItLocal

Coalition Urges Court to Immediately Restore SNAP Funding Relied Upon by 42 Million Americans

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 21 other attorneys general and three governors today in filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million Americans buy food, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

“Trump is stealing food from hungry Connecticut families—it’s unconscionable, unlawful, and we’re going to court today to free these funds. There are billions of dollars in contingency funds, paid for by taxpayers and appropriated by Congress sitting there to help American families buy food at a time when grocery prices are already out of control. Trump has no right to block these funds and we’re not going to let him use our families as political bargaining chips,” said Attorney General Tong.

Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves said: “We are monitoring this legal action closely as it directly impacts hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents who depend on SNAP benefits to feed their families. Our priority remains ensuring that our most vulnerable neighbors have access to food assistance during this disruption. Regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome, Connecticut will continue working with our partners to support families in need and we remain ready to implement federal SNAP benefits when they become available again.” 

“Thanks to President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ cruel political games, Connecticut families will struggle to put food on the table starting November 1. This is not inevitable, they are deciding to let people starve when there is a contingency in place to prevent it. I applaud Attorney General Tong on his effort to hold Washington accountable and to defend the basic dignity of hardworking families that depends on these benefits. No one in America should ever go hungry because of politics,” said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.

“Trump and congressional Republicans are already pushing millions of Americans off a health care cliff and now they want to force working families to go hungry. The administration has the authority to open up these emergency funds for SNAP and the only reason they won’t do it is because Trump thinks he’s a king who can pick and choose what services he wants to fund. It’s not just heartless – it’s illegal – and I’m grateful to Governor Lamont and Attorney General Tong for holding the administration accountable and standing up for the 360,000 people in Connecticut who rely on SNAP to feed their families,” said U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.

“Donald Trump has the funding to pay SNAP benefits on time, but he’s choosing to hold hungry families hostage instead. I am proud to live in Connecticut, where leaders and everyday citizens alike are stepping up to the plate – working with organizations like Connecticut Foodshare and local pantries to keep families fed. But Connecticut shouldn’t pay the price for this president’s failure to govern. As our delegation fights in Washington to lower health care costs and protect food assistance for 42 million Americans, I stand with Attorney General William Tong, as he takes this fight to court to protect the nutrition benefits our families, seniors, and veterans rely on from yet another Trump-manufactured crisis,” said Congressman John Larson.

“I strongly support this lawsuit by the State of Connecticut. After making the largest cut to food assistance in U.S. history in the “Big Beautiful Bill”, the Trump Administration is now unnecessarily cutting off SNAP benefits. Even while Speaker Johnson has suffocated Congress from performing its role as the spending authority by keeping the House shut down for 40 days, the USDA has the contingency funds and the authority to cover full November SNAP benefits but is choosing not to do so. It’s a cruel tactic that will have immediate harm when families are no longer able to buy groceries. The USDA must use its available funding to maintain SNAP benefits, and Speaker Johnson must immediately bring the House back to work. Attorney General Tong’s lawsuit is a welcome step to forcing them to act,” said Congressman Joe Courtney.

“People across the country are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of groceries skyrockets,” said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. “USDA Secretary Rollins and OMB Director Vought’s answer is to illegally freeze all funding for SNAP – threatening food stamp benefits for 42 million Americans. Congress already provided billions of dollars to fund SNAP in November. The Trump administration is freezing funding already enacted into law to feed hungry Americans while providing tens of billions of dollars to Argentina, private jets, and a golden ballroom. I am grateful Connecticut Attorney General Tong is taking the fight to court. The Trump Administration must release funding for SNAP.”

“I’m proud of Connecticut and Attorney General Tong for suing to undo the Trump Administration’s cruelty in withholding billions of dollars in contingency funding for SNAP benefits. Here in Connecticut, state leaders are providing $3 million in emergency funding to help Connecticut residents who are expected to lose access to food stamp benefits. But these funds are only a temporary solution—the Administration must reverse course and restore this critical support that puts food on the table for seniors and individuals with disabilities,” said Congressman Jim Himes.

“I thank Attorney General Tong for joining other Democrat leaders across the nation in filing a lawsuit to force the release of available contingency funds so the 42 million people who rely on SNAP do not go hungry. This lawsuit mirrors a letter I led with 214 House colleagues urging Secretary Rollins to use her authority during a government shutdown to fulfill this mission. In the absence of Republicans returning to Washington to negotiate, I will work with our federal, state and local partners to ensure families are fed,” said Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

“We’re grateful for the Attorney General’s leadership in protecting Connecticut’s hardworking residents,” said Emily Byrne, Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children. “SNAP is a proven anti-poverty policy that helped nearly 500,000 Connecticut residents last year. But the issue at hand isn’t just about feeding hungry children and families, veterans and the elderly. This is also about our economy. Stopping the $72 million in SNAP benefits that go out monthly to the hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents will also disrupt the supply chain and impact the roughly 2,500 stores that accept EBT benefits and provide jobs to our neighbors. Connecticut Voices for Children is extremely concerned about the well-being of our state’s children as well as our economy, and the harm that will come from not fully funding SNAP for any period of time.”

On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a “government shutdown.” On October 10, USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the approximately 42 million individuals across the country that rely on them. 

Despite USDA’s claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this very purpose. Furthermore, USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program.

The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country, who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families. This lapse will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap. It will affect our school systems and college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating our students. Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity.

SNAP is a key part of Connecticut’s efforts to address hunger by supplementing the food budget of low-income families so they can purchase healthy food. Thus far in 2025, an average of approximately 366,000 people received SNAP benefits in Connecticut each month, including approximately 215,000 families and 120,000 children. Households in Connecticut receive on average $324 per month in SNAP benefits to meet their basic subsistence and nutritional needs. During the federal fiscal year between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, DSS issued approximately $72,000,000 per month in SNAP benefits in Connecticut, as described in a declaration from the Connecticut Department of Social Services filed with today’s lawsuit. SNAP is also an economic driver for Connecticut local businesses, with approximately 2,500 merchants in Connecticut accepting SNAP benefits for food purchases. Many Connecticut grocers routinely increase their inventory in anticipation of the availability of SNAP benefits, and those who order food in advance may now be left with perishable goods that will no longer be purchased by Connecticut families, as further described in the DSS declaration.

While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state. Suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. Where Congress has clearly spoken, providing that SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown, USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise. The coalition will also be filing a temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately turn benefits back on.

Joining Attorney General Tong in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined. 

Assistant Attorney General Patricia McCooey and Janelle Medeiros, Special Counsel for Civil Rights, are assisting the Attorney General in this matter.