Attorney General Phil Weiser demands answers from Trump administration on SNAP funding expected to lapse at end of month

Attorney General Phil Weiser demands answers from Trump administration on SNAP funding expected to lapse at end of month

Oct. 24, 2025 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser and 22 other attorneys general today sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins demanding clarity and additional information on how USDA plans to proceed after alerting states that funding for critical food programs may lapse soon because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

"Coloradans should not go hungry during the government shutdown when USDA has reserve funds to meet critical needs. Suspending SNAP benefits at the end of the month will cause grave harm to children, seniors, and veterans who rely on food assistance every day for their meals. USDA must explain what legal authority they have to withhold congressionally mandated funds to the states for food assistance," said Attorney General Weiser.

On Oct. 10, USDA issued a letter to all state agencies and state agency directors that administer the SNAP program. The letter indicated that "if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation." It also directed States to stop work on November benefits until further notice.

In other words, without citing any legal authority or providing any reasoning, USDA prohibited states like Colorado from sending already calculated November allotments to EBT vendors for processing. USDA does have authority to reduce SNAP benefits or even suspend or cancel them under certain circumstances. However, USDA's Oct. 10 letter does not indicate that any of the legal requirements to do so have been met.

In addition, USDA appears to have at least $6 billion in SNAP contingency reserve funds that Congress appropriated for emergency situations like this. The attorneys general argue the federal government should use those funds to continue providing SNAP benefits rather than direct states to suspend November benefits. Furthermore, USDA also has access to other funds that could also be used to provide SNAP benefits during the ongoing shutdown.

The attorneys general further argue that if carried out, USDA's Oct. 10 directive will harm millions of Americans and could cause significant hardship for the 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP to feed themselves and their families. Even a temporary delay, which now appears inevitable, will have devastating effects on the American public and the national economy.

More than 600,000 Coloradans receive SNAP benefits and about 50% are children. Nearly 24,000 veterans in Colorado have relied on SNAP benefits in recent years.

Read the letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins regarding SNAP funding (PDF).

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