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Some 1.1 million Bay State residents who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to put food on the table could receive their delayed benefits as soon as Saturday, the Healey administration has said. In a statement, the Democratic governor said she’d ordered SNAP recipients to receive full benefits even amid a legal dispute over the aid. The Trump administration said Friday that it was working to comply with a federal court’s order to provide full November benefits during the shutdown, Politico reported, citing an internal memo. The Agriculture Department said in its memo that “later today” it will “complete the processes necessary” to make funds for the SNAP program available, the online news outlet reported. Still, President Donald Trump "should never have put the American people in this position. Families shouldn’t have had to go hungry because their president chose to put politics over their lives,” Healey said, adding that her office is “now getting these benefits out to families who desperately need them.” MassLive has reached out to Healey’s office for additional clarity on how the White House’s announcement comports with the Democratic administration’s plan. The announcement from the Republican White House came after it appealed a federal court’s Thursday order directing it to make full payments. It will continue to pursue that appeal, according to NBC News. Read More: Trump appeals court order to pay full SNAP benefits during shutdown The U.S. Justice Department, which represents the USDA, argued in its appeal to a Boston-based appeals court that U.S. District Judge John McConnell had overstepped his authority when he issued his order on Thursday afternoon, according to CNN. McConnell had ordered the White House to provide the additional funding by the end of the day on Friday, tapping unused tariff funds meant for child nutrition programs, according to CNN. That pot of money currently has nearly $17 billion in it, the government has said. Read More: Federal judge orders Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November Healey said Friday that she was “grateful to the people across Massachusetts who continue to step up and help their neighbors in this time of need.” “I also want to thank Attorney General [Andrea J.] Campbell for going to court to oppose this unprecedented, illegal decision,” Healey continued. “And I want to thank our team at the Department of Transitional Assistance for working through these challenging circumstances and maintaining their focus on serving the people of Massachusetts.” SNAP beneficiaries can find more information here and families facing hunger and those looking to help can find more information here.
