{"id":76638,"date":"2025-10-28T09:59:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=76638"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:59:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:59:25","slug":"governor-newsom-sues-trump-administration-for-illegally-withholding-snap-food-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=76638","title":{"rendered":"Governor Newsom sues Trump Administration for illegally withholding SNAP food benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Defends 5.5 million Californians who depend on this assistance<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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What you need to know:<\/strong>\u00a0California and over 20 other states\u00a0are filing a\u00a0lawsuit today against the Trump administration for putting millions of Americans at risk of hunger and refusing to fund food assistance benefits, despite the USDA having funds to continue supporting the program\u00a0in November.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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SACRAMENTO October 28, 2025 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Today, Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that California, along with over 20 other states, is suing the Trump administration over the administration\u2019s unlawful refusal to fund SNAP benefits due to the nearly month-long federal government shutdown, despite possessing funds to support SNAP in November.<\/p>\n

Under President Trump, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is needlessly suspending November SNAP benefits, causing 5.5 million Californians to lose critical access to $1.1 billion in food assistance.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWhile 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.”<\/h4>\n
\nGovernor Gavin Newsom<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWhen families don\u2019t know where their next meal will come from, our government has failed its most basic duty to care for its people. The Trump administration\u2019s decision to withhold food assistance that\u2019s already been funded has left millions of Americans in fear and uncertainty. As a state, we know we must stand up and fight back. We are taking action for our families, for our children, and for the 5.5 million Californians who deserve the simple dignity of knowing there will be food on the table.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\nFirst Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cLet\u2019s be clear about what\u2019s 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,”<\/em>\u00a0said\u00a0Attorney General Rob Bonta.\u00a0<\/strong>“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 \u2014 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Trump choosing to delay SNAP benefits<\/h2>\n

The federal government is legally required to make payments to SNAP. Congress appropriated $6 billion to the USDA in SNAP-related contingency funds through September 2026 to continue funding SNAP benefits in instances like the current\u00a0government shutdown. Instead of helping, the Trump administration chose to suspend November SNAP benefits despite\u00a0contingency funding in place to help feed American families.<\/p>\n

The USDA is selectively choosing what programs to keep open during this shutdown, as it has provided billions in aid for farmers and been able to temporarily fund WIC benefits. Trump is simply choosing not to use this\u00a0authority to fund SNAP benefits for millions of Americans, including veterans and vulnerable populations, such as children and seniors.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s assistance to food-insecure families<\/h2>\n

While food benefits are delayed for 5.5 million residents, California is stepping up to protect families from hunger by\u00a0fast-tracking $80 million in state funds<\/a>\u00a0to stabilize food bank food distribution and offset delays in federal CalFresh benefits.<\/p>\n

Governor Newsom has also mobilized the California National Guard and California Volunteers on a humanitarian mission to\u00a0support food banks and Californians<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0planning,\u00a0packing, distributing, and delivering meals to families in need\u00a0throughout the state \u2013 similarly to his\u00a0actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Members of the California National Guard preparing meals for distribution at the City of Industry food bank in Los Angeles County.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Defends 5.5 million Californians who depend...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76639,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76638\/revisions\/76639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}