Washington joins states suing Trump administration for illegally suspending SNAP benefits

Coalition urges court to immediately restore SNAP funding relied upon by 42 million Americans

Attorney General Nick Brown joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors today in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million Americans buy food.

On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a "government shutdown." On October 10, USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the approximately 42 million individuals across the country that rely on them.

Despite USDA's claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this very purpose. Furthermore, USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. The federal government is clearly making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program.

"SNAP benefits help ensure that nearly a million Washingtonians - seniors, children, and people living with disabilities - have enough to eat every day," Brown said. "Trump is picking and choosing what gets funded and what doesn't during the shutdown. Apparently keeping food on the table for more than 40 million Americans isn't a priority for the President."

The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families. This lapse will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations. Families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap. It will harm our school systems and college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating our students. Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity.

In Washington, around 900,000 people, including about 300,000 children, will lose access to food benefits due to the withholding of SNAP funds on November 1, if funding is not restarted. These benefits help them meet their basic subsistence and nutritional needs. If hundreds of thousands of Washington residents are forced to cut back on food spending at once, this will also drastically affect the economic well-being of vendors, farmers, and stores across Washington.

While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state. Congress has clearly said that SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown. USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise. USDA's suspension of SNAP benefits is both contrary to law, and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The coalition will also be requesting a temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately turn benefits back on.

Joining Brown in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined.

A copy of the complaint is available here.