SACRAMENTO (KABC) — California, along with over 20 other states, is suing the Trump administration over the alleged unlawful refusal to fund SNAP benefits, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.

Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the lawsuit Tuesday morning.

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Food banks and pantries were already struggling after federal program cuts this year, but now they’re bracing for a tsunami of hungry people if a pause in federal food aid to low-income people kicks in this weekend.

The governor’s office says the Trump administration is putting millions of Americans at risk of hunger by refusing to fund food assistance benefits, despite the Department of Agriculture (USDA) having funds to continue supporting the program next month.

More than five million Californians stand to lose critical access to food assistance.

“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,” said Newsom 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.”

Newsom is fast-tracking $80 million in state funds to support food banks and has deployed the California National Guard to assist.

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