November 4, 2025 — The White House said Tuesday it is complying with a federal court order requiring the administration to use available emergency funds to continue distributing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, following confusion sparked by comments from President Trump suggesting otherwise.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified during a briefing that the administration is “fully complying” with the court’s order and working to get partial SNAP payments “out the door as much as we can and as quickly as we can.”
“The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take some time to receive this money because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position,” Leavitt said.
Confusion Over Trump’s Truth Social Post
Earlier in the day, President Trump posted on Truth Social that SNAP benefits “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”
The statement prompted widespread uncertainty over whether the administration planned to comply with last month’s court order directing it to use available emergency funds to keep benefits flowing amid the government shutdown.
When pressed on whether the president’s remarks contradicted the court order, Leavitt said Trump was referring to future SNAP payments, not the current disbursement mandated by the court.
“He does not want to have to keep tapping into an emergency fund and depleting it in the case of a catastrophe in this country,” Leavitt said. “He wants to have those funds preserved, as they should be.”
Background on the Court Ruling
The clarification comes after a federal judge directed the Trump administration late last month to use available emergency funds to continue SNAP benefits, ruling that the government could not legally withhold them during the shutdown.
Initially, the administration said it would not tap into those funds, calling it “an unacceptable risk,” but has since confirmed that reduced benefits will be sent out while recalculations and adjustments are made — a process officials say could cause delays.
The court’s order emphasized that the contingency funds were established precisely for emergencies such as this, contradicting earlier USDA claims that those funds could not be used for SNAP payments.
What It Means for Families
While the administration now says it is moving forward with compliance, millions of low-income households could face partial payments or delayed benefits until the Department of Agriculture finalizes recalculations.
The ongoing shutdown has already disrupted a range of federal assistance programs, and advocates warn that interruptions in SNAP payments could leave families struggling to afford basic groceries.
The court order effectively forced the administration’s hand after it initially refused to use the contingency funds — a move that legal analysts say would have violated both the court’s directive and federal law governing emergency food aid.
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