On November 4, 2025, President Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”.
This statement contradicted his administration’s previous announcement to a federal court just a day earlier, where officials stated they would provide partial benefits for November using an emergency contingency fund.
Key details:
- The government is currently in a shutdown that began on October 1.
- A federal court had ordered the administration to make full or partial SNAP payments for November.
- The administration’s initial plan was to use a $4.65 billion emergency fund to cover about half of the $8 billion monthly SNAP costs.
- Lawyers have since filed a request to force the administration to pay the full benefits.
- The status of whether benefits will actually be paid out, and in what amount, is unclear as of Tuesday morning, November 4, 2025, due to the conflicting statements and ongoing court actions.
- Recipients who have existing funds on their EBT cards can still use them.
