Hakeem Jeffries blasts Trump over SNAP delay despite legal order: 'The courts have been clear'

WASHINGTON, DC:  House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sharply criticized President Donald Trump on Saturday, November 1, for failing to act immediately after a court ruling to use emergency funds to provide at least partial food assistance during the ongoing government shutdown.

“The courts have been clear, and the morality of it is clear,” Jeffries said in an interview with MSNBC.

"The Trump administration needs to release these benefits. They have the funds for a contingency situation like we confront," he added. 

"But this is a choice that they have made to violate the law as part of an effort to pressure the Congress to continue to gut the health care of the American people," Jeffries concluded.

Shutdown standoff continues over health care subsidies

Jeffries linked the administration’s refusal to release SNAP funds to the broader political fight paralyzing Washington as the shutdown triggered partisan divisions over health care and spending.

"We will consider in good faith anything that emerges from the Senate in a bipartisan way that reopens the government," he stated. 

"Of course, that enacts an enlightened spending agreement and addresses these twin crisis moments that we now are confronting because of Republican cruelty and extremism," Jeffries added. 

The shutdown has left millions of low-income households uncertain about when or if they will receive their food benefits, while talks between the White House and congressional leaders remain at a standstill.

Trump says he’s seeking legal path to fund benefits

Trump said on Thursday night that he had directed administration lawyers to consult the courts on how to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits “as quickly as possible.”

But he admitted that millions of Americans relying on the program will face delays this month. 

Trump also reportedly said that his legal team was seeking immediate clarification from federal courts after government attorneys expressed concern that existing funds may not be legally available for distribution.

“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Before the court rulings, the US Department of Agriculture had reportedly declined to draw from a contingency fund to cover food assistance, despite growing warnings from states and food banks about the lapse.

“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” he continued, adding that he had directed attorneys to seek judicial clarification “as soon as possible.”

Trump said he would be honored to authorize SNAP funding if permitted by the courts, comparing it to his earlier actions to ensure pay for military personnel and law enforcement during the standoff.