SNAP funding is now flowing from the federal government, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Friday in Philadelphia, and he is hopeful benefits will reach recipients this evening.
“I wanted to come here today to tell you that as a result of the great work that our Department of Human Services has done, as a result of our winning lawsuit against the Trump administration, the dollars are beginning to flow again to SNAP recipients who haven't received their benefits over the first six days of this month,” Shapiro said.
'My appeal to the Trump administration is, just do the right thing. Give up. You're going to lose again in court. The only thing you're fighting for is to make Americans go hungry.'
— Gov. Josh Shapiro
SNAP recipients were supposed to receive benefits in the first week of November.
“If you're one of those people that had a zero on your SNAP card because you were supposed to get your benefits on the first of the month, go check it out,” Shapiro said.
“Those dollars are flowing. We are hoping that by this evening, by midnight or so, that all of those individuals who were owed money over the first week or so of this month, who hadn't gotten it from the federal administration are going to get their money,” the governor added.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last month that SNAP benefits would be put on pause due to the government shutdown.
More than 2 million Pennsylvanians affected
More than 2 million Pennsylvanians receive SNAP benefits. Shapiro last month sued the Trump administration with other Democratic governors and attorneys general, challenging the USDA’s decision to not tap into a $6 billion contingency fund that would continue to fund SNAP through the government shutdown.
A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration needs to pay states for full SNAP benefits by Friday. The administration appealed the judge’s ruling.
“My appeal to the Trump administration is, just do the right thing. Give up. You're going to lose again in court. The only thing you're fighting for is to make Americans go hungry,” Shapiro said.
Vice President J. D. Vance called Thursday's ruling "absurd." At the press conference Friday, Shapiro called Vance's actions "phony" and "shameful."
