California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins, challenging the indefinite suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown. The suit, co-led by Bonta and attorneys general from 22 other states along with three governors, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
The legal action argues that the USDA currently holds sufficient contingency funds to cover all or most November SNAP benefits and that withholding these funds is both unlawful and arbitrary under the Administrative Procedure Act. The coalition is also seeking a temporary restraining order to block the suspension, citing potential harm to residents.
“Let’s be clear about what’s happening: For the first time ever, SNAP benefits will not be available to the millions of low-income individuals who depend on them to put food on the table,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “November SNAP benefits can and must be provided, even with the government shutdown. 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 that so many people depend on — including 5.5 million individuals in California alone. With the holidays around the corner, we are seeing costs for groceries continue to increase and food banks facing unprecedented demand. We are taking a stand because families will experience hunger and malnutrition if the Trump Administration gets its way.”
Governor Gavin Newsom added: “While Donald Trump parades around the world trying to repair the economic damage he’s done with his incompetence, he’s denying food to millions of Americans who will go hungry next month. It’s cruel and speaks to his basic lack of humanity. He doesn’t care about the people of this country, only himself.”
According to court documents, on September 30 USDA acknowledged in its Lapse of Funding Plan that Congress intended for SNAP operations to continue during a shutdown and confirmed it had approximately $6 billion in multi-year contingency funds for such events. However, after directing state agencies on October 10 to halt November benefits pending further review, USDA formally suspended those benefits on October 24 without additional guidance or explanation.
The lawsuit contends that under federal law USDA must provide SNAP benefits and cannot suspend them indefinitely while holding back billions in contingency funds meant for this purpose. It also points out that USDA has previously used such funds during past funding lapses but reversed its position without adequate consideration this time.
SNAP serves as a critical food assistance program across all states and territories; in California it operates as CalFresh through the Department of Social Services, reaching an average of 5.5 million residents monthly—63 percent of whom are children or elderly—and supporting nearly 85,000 veterans’ households in recent years.
Attorney General Bonta is joined in leading this legal effort by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, as well as officials from Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Washington D.C., Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington State and Wisconsin; governors from Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania have also signed onto the lawsuit.
A copy of the lawsuit is available here. The request for a temporary restraining order is available here.
