The US government shutdown entered its 35th day on Tuesday, equalling the longest in the country’s history.
Published On 4 Nov 2025
United States President Donald Trump has claimed he will only provide nutrition assistance to low-income Americans once the government shutdown ends, appearing to defy two court orders demanding he free up contingency funds to keep the food aid scheme operational.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves one in eight Americans each month, was set to freeze on November 1, after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on October 10 that it would not be able to fund the programme if the shutdown continued.
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The US government shutdown entered its 35th day on Tuesday, equalling the longest in the country’s history.
Last week, federal judges in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island doled out separate but similar rulings that told the federal government to cover the benefits by drawing from contingency funds. Following the rulings, the Trump administration said on Monday that it would partially fund the country’s flagship food aid scheme, falling back on about $5bn set aside in emergency reserves.
However, the president appeared to walk back his administration’s plans with a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, saying he would only fund SNAP once the government reopens.
“SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly “handed” to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” the president posted on Tuesday morning.
SNAP, known colloquially as food stamps, costs more than $8bn to deploy monthly. A person in the programme receives an average of about $190 each month, while a household receives an average monthly benefit of $356 in groceries. The benefits are typically loaded onto debit cards.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to contradict the president’s social media post on Tuesday afternoon, saying the administration is “fully complying with the court