WASHINGTON, DC -- After deleting its own authorized contingency plan and refusing to release billions of dollars in emergency funds, the Trump Administration was required to provide a compliance update to a federal court order that issued a temporary restraining order directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue November benefit payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed issued the following statement after the Trump Administration begrudgingly announced it is choosing to only partially fund SNAP:

“It’s outrageous that it took a court order for President Trump to follow the law and fund SNAP. He’s had the money and authority all along. His half-baked approach to only provide partial funding hurts the whole country and underscores Trump’s gross mismanagement. This is about Trump actively denying food assistance to millions of children and vulnerable seniors while he’s simultaneously increasing costs, hurting local economies, and pushing more people into poverty.”

SNAP is a nutrition assistance lifeline that helps feed 16 million children, 8 million seniors, 4 million disabled Americans, and many more who struggle to make ends meet -- people who work hard but don’t earn a living wage.

Trump’s move to delay and deny the federal funding comes after Senate Republican leaders blocked consideration of both the Keep SNAP and WIC Funded Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and the Keep SNAP Funded Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO). Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) refused to put Senator Hawley’s bipartisan bill to keep SNAP benefits flowing up for a vote—despite the fact that it has the necessary votes to pass.

It also comes on the heels of President Trump and Congressional Republicans enacting the largest cuts to SNAP in American history this summer—and both President Trump’s budget request and House Republicans’ draft fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill cut WIC benefits for millions of moms and kids.

Those who rely on SNAP to buy groceries for themselves and their families make up about 12 percent of all grocery sales nationwide, according to the National Grocers Association.

Grocery stores typically time larger shipments of goods to the start of the month to coincide with the reloading of EBT cards. Smaller grocers and convenience stores, particularly those located in areas with high concentrations of SNAP recipients, make up a majority of the stores that accept SNAP credits and often have smaller margins to navigate the financial strain on their customer base. A drop in sales could lead to layoffs and increased costs for all consumers.