Recipients of the nation’s largest low-income food aid program will lose access to their benefits on Nov. 1 after the Trump administration said Friday it lacks the legal authority to keep the program funded during a government shutdown.
The Agriculture Department said it can’t tap a contingency fund worth around $5 billion to maintain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits because Congress hasn’t passed any fiscal 2026 appropriations, according to an unsigned memo obtained by Bloomberg Government. A separate memo sent Friday to regional program directors instructed states to immediately notify recipients that November SNAP benefits would be suspended until “sufficient ...