California among states suing Trump administration over SNAP funding cuts during government shutdown

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday announced a lawsuit aimed at forcing the Trump administration to continue providing food stamps in November amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.California and more than 20 states argue that Congress appropriated $6 billion to the United States Department of Agriculture in contingency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September 2026. Watch a livestream about the lawsuit at 10 a.m. in the video above.The states argue that the Trump administration chose to suspend November’s SNAP benefits instead of using contingency funding that is available. In a press release, the governor’s office said the USDA is “selectively choosing” which programs to keep open during the shutdown, including aid to farmers and funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). In California, about 5.5 million people who receive food assistance through CalFresh are set to lose funding for their EBT cards in November. That includes 2 million children, according to Carlos Marquez III, the executive director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California. In Sacramento County alone, the cuts will impact 270,000 people who rely on the food benefits.“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.”Newsom previously said the state would release $80 million in direct assistance to food banks and deploy the National Guard to help with food distribution in response to the expected funding cuts and heavy demand for emergency food assistance.“Food banks were not meant to be able to replace CalFresh,” said Kevin Buffalino with the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. “For every one meal that a food bank provides, Cal Fresh provides nine. So those loss of benefits are really going to impact food banks.” The federal government has so far been shut down for 27 days as Republicans and Democrats have failed to agree on terms to keep funding the government. A major sticking point: Democrats have called for Republicans to agree to extend subsidies for the health plans under the Affordable Care Act.The current shutdown is already the second-longest in history.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channelPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday announced a lawsuit aimed at forcing the Trump administration to continue providing food stamps in November amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.

California and more than 20 states argue that Congress appropriated $6 billion to the United States Department of Agriculture in contingency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September 2026.

Watch a livestream about the lawsuit at 10 a.m. in the video above.

The states argue that the Trump administration chose to suspend November’s SNAP benefits instead of using contingency funding that is available.

In a press release, the governor’s office said the USDA is “selectively choosing” which programs to keep open during the shutdown, including aid to farmers and funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

In California, about 5.5 million people who receive food assistance through CalFresh are set to lose funding for their EBT cards in November.

That includes 2 million children, according to Carlos Marquez III, the executive director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California.

In Sacramento County alone, the cuts will impact 270,000 people who rely on the food benefits.

“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.”

Newsom previously said the state would release $80 million in direct assistance to food banks and deploy the National Guard to help with food distribution in response to the expected funding cuts and heavy demand for emergency food assistance.

“Food banks were not meant to be able to replace CalFresh,” said Kevin Buffalino with the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. “For every one meal that a food bank provides, Cal Fresh provides nine. So those loss of benefits are really going to impact food banks.”

The federal government has so far been shut down for 27 days as Republicans and Democrats have failed to agree on terms to keep funding the government. A major sticking point: Democrats have called for Republicans to agree to extend subsidies for the health plans under the Affordable Care Act.

The current shutdown is already the second-longest in history.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel