California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced the latest steps he and other state attorneys general are taking to protect any SNAP benefits that have gone out in recent days – benefits the Trump administration is demanding states claw back.
It appears that the Trump administration does agree with California and nearly two dozen other states, agencies and nonprofits that sued over SNAP benefits – the agreement not about the benefits themselves but about wanting the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.
Bonta and several other state attorneys general talked about the need for a temporary restraining order because of the mass confusion the USDA has created by issuing conflicting guidance and calculations for partial benefit payment that Bonta said made it impossible to get benefits out quickly.
“Between Nov. 3 and Nov. 8, USDA issued formal guidance four distinct times, each providing our states with new directives that were contrary to its earlier guidance,” Bonta said. “Those contradictory messages underscore that USDA’s actions have been arbitrary, they’ve been capricious and demonstrates why we need the court to step in to provide clarity and concrete guidance.”
One of those orders called on states like California to claw back any November benefits that have already been paid out and threatening the withholding of federal funds if they did not. But Bonta said there was no guidance on how to take back those benefits.
The Trump administration has maintained that it does not have the funding to pay SNAP benefits in full, though several courts have ruled otherwise.