CA Sues Trump Administration Over Food Aid Suspension During Government Shutdown

California is joined other states Tuesday to sue the Trump administration over its refusal to fund food assistance benefits despite having funds to support the program, state officials announced.

Amid the ongoing government shutdown, Attorney General Rob Bonta says it will be the "first time ever" that SNAP benefits are halted for millions who rely on them.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Bonta say the administration's decision to suspend funds from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is illegal. In California, some 5.5 million will lose access to food assistance under CalFresh in November.

Bonta and Newsom say that the United States Department of Agriculture has the funds to support the program and is needlessly withholding them.

"November SNAP benefits can and must be provided, even with the government shutdown," Bonta wrote in a statement on Tuesday. "USDA not only has authority to use contingency funds, it has a legal duty to spend all available dollars to fund SNAP benefits. The Trump Administration, however, has chosen instead to play politics with this essential safety net"

On Sept. 30, Bonta's office says the USDA issued a Lapse of Funding Plan, in which it confirmed that Congress intended for SNAP operations to continue during a government shutdown and that it has “multi-year contingency funds” on hand. That contingency fund stood at $6 billion as of last month.

Following the shutdown on Oct. 10, USDA sent a letter to state agencies directing them to put an indefinite hold on November benefits.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued on November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”

However, the agency has not provided further guidance since, prompting Bonta and a coalition of state attorneys general to demand an update on USDA’s contingency plan. On the same day, Bonta says USDA issued a decision to formally suspend SNAP benefits indefinitely.

In another memo, it wrote that USDA cannot legally use the $6 billion contingency fund to provide SNAP benefits, which Bonta says conflicts what it said previously.

In Tuesday's lawsuit, Bonta and a coalition of more than a dozen other states demand that USDA furnish SNAP benefits.

"With the holidays around the corner, we are seeing costs for groceries continue to increase and food banks facing unprecedented demand," Bonta said. "We are taking a stand because families will experience hunger and malnutrition if the Trump Administration gets its way.”

California joins 26 other states and jurisdictions — including Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin — as well as the governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, in filing the lawsuit.

While the spigot may entirely shut off for Californians receiving benefits next month, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has "fast-tracked" up to $80 million to support food banks.

The democratic governor has also deployed the state National Guard to support food banks.

"As SNAP delays hit dinner tables right before the holiday season, the state is working hard to keep families from going hungry." Newsom said Friday. "The efforts seen today will be ongoing and available to food banks across California that request greater assistance.”

READ MORE: CalFresh Benefits Won't Go Out In November, Officials Say: 'The Well Has Run Dry'