But, they also warned it wasn\u2019t enough to ensure food security for the nearly 3 million state residents who rely on the program.<\/p>\n
A federal judge in Boston ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s plan to pause a food assistance program for nearly 42 million people was illegal \u2014 but gave the Trump administration until Monday to respond to her finding before she decides on a motion to force the benefits be paid despite the ongoing government shutdown.<\/p>\n
At nearly the same time Friday, a Rhode Island federal judge in a similar case brought by cities and nonprofit groups ordered the United States Department of Agriculture to continue payments and granted a request for a temporary restraining order.<\/p>\n
Speaking on a Zoom conference call organized by the group Sabotaging Our Safety, state Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, said he was grateful for the judicial intervention but he cautioned that it was \u201conly a temporary fix.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/016dfbd1c84504c5f8b8ca2aea5609c7.jpeg\"\/)
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State Sen. Shevrin Jones. (Photo via Florida Senate)<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a fund that could run dry in what, less than a month? Then that\u2019s not stability, that\u2019s survival,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The USDA last week posted a notice saying SNAP benefits would expire Nov. 1 and put the blame on Democrats for not agreeing to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Democrats are against passing a funding plan that doesn\u2019t extend the enhanced premium tax credits that lower the costs of so-called Obamacare plans purchased through the federal health exchange (healthcare.gov<\/a>).<\/p>\n The partisan impasse has resulted in a month-long government shutdown.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best way for SNAP to continue is for the shutdown to end. If not for Congressional Democrats blocking government funding, November SNAP benefits would be paid on-time,\u201d the USDA notice, first reported by Axios, notes.<\/p>\n SNAP has about $6 billion in contingency funds<\/a>; $9 billion is needed to cover the costs of the program through November. But the federal memo says that SNAP contingency funds cannot be used to float the program during the shutdown.<\/p>\n The federal judges authoring Friday\u2019s court orders disagreed with the USDA\u2019s argument that contingency funds couldn\u2019t be used.<\/p>\n SNAP provides nutritional support for low-income seniors, people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, and other individuals and families with low incomes. Florida has the fourth largest SNAP enrollment nationwide with 2.94 million relying on the assistance for their food security, behind California, Texas, and New York.<\/p>\n Nationwide, 41.7 million people rely on SNAP benefits, August 2025 data<\/a> show.<\/p>\n \u201cI know they want this plane to come in for a landing, but let\u2019s be clear,\u201d Jones continued. \u201cRight now, the White House, the House, the Senate and the courts are run by the Republican Party. They have the power \u2013 right now \u2013 to ensure that millions of Floridians \u2013 not only don\u2019t go hungry, but they do not lose their health care. And the fact right now that Democrats are holding the line right now, for the fact to ensure that we don\u2019t have a nation of sick people, I will continue to push the line that the federal government should do what\u2019s right and feed the American people and stop bargaining with people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCruelty is the point\u201d<\/p>\n State Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville,\u00a0 joined Jones on the Zoom call and said she was \u201chappy and grateful\u201d with the court rulings.\u00a0 But she worries that the administration will appeal the rulings.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause at this point, cruelty is the point, right?\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX<\/a><\/p>\n Florida legislative Democrats sent DeSantis a letter earlier this week calling on him to declare a state of emergency over the impending loss of SNAP benefits and dip into the state\u2019s \u201crainy day\u201d fund to help cover the costs of the program. They also asked DeSantis to direct the Department of Children and Families to work to distribute food to local food banks and their partners.<\/p>\n DeSantis dismissed <\/a>that request a day later.<\/p>\n \u201cDid those Democrats write a letter to Chuck Schumer asking him to stop filibustering the spending?\u201d DeSantis responded at a Tampa press conference on Wednesday. \u201cCome on.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Florida\u2019s congressional Democrats also hailed the Friday rulings<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat from Miami Gardens, called the ruling<\/a> \u201cgood news and shows Republicans chose to illegally stop SNAP benefits this November.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe USDA must follow the court order and keep families fed. Now, Congress needs to come back to work, end the shutdown and save healthcare,\u201d Wilson continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, an Orlando Democrat, posted<\/a> in part \u201cMr. President, the cruelty stops here. Food for our people should never be a political bargaining chip,\u201d in responding to the ruling.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a video posted to social media, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat, called on Trump to think of the people in Palm Beach County, where he lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Congressional Democrats took to social media to comment on the ruling, their Republican colleagues did not, instead calling on Democrats to play their role in ending the shutdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans are ready to reopen the government. Why aren\u2019t Dems?\u201d U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Naples, posted<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n