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By Hannah Parry and Dan Gooding
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, announced on Monday that around $5 billion in contingency funds are "not legally available" to cover Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown.
Speaking to reporters alongside Republican colleagues, as he has done multiple days during the shutdown, which is now in its 27th day, Johnson said he did not want to take money away from other programs.
"The SNAP benefits is a unique situation. I got a summary of the whole legal analysis, and it looks legitimate to me, that the contingency funds are not legally available to cover the benefits right now," the House speaker said. "The reason is because it's a finite source of funds, it was appropriated by Congress, and if they transferred funds from these other sources, it pulls it away immediately from school meals and infant formula. So, it's a tradeoff."
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Why It Matters
The Trump administration has come under pressure to use the funds to keep food assistance flowing over fears that millions of Americans could lose access to SNAP benefits if the shutdown continues into next month.
What To Know
A Department of Agriculture (USDA) memo obtained by The Associated Press last week stated that the contingency funds “are not legally available to cover regular benefits,” arguing the money is reserved for emergencies such as natural disasters.
Around 42 million people collect SNAP benefits, which are paid monthly onto cards that can then be used to buy groceries and meals.
The looming end to funds that have kept benefits going over the past month is leaving many American families without a clear picture of how they will put food on the table. A recent survey by Propel, the company behind an app of the same name that helps SNAP recipients manage their benefits, showed that many who rely on food stamps to pay for groceries will face significant hardship, including skipping meals and turning to food banks, if their November benefits are not delivered on time.
Johnson put the blame on Democrats on Monday, adding that "the best way for SNAP benefits to be paid on time is for the Democrats to end their shutdown." That message echoed other sentiments from within the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress that the stalemate on reopening the government is fully down to the minority party.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said later Monday that he spoke with the president late Sunday but offered no new strategy for ending the government shutdown. Thune also signaled there’s no easy fix ahead to pay air traffic controllers (ATC) and other federal workers, or to ensure food stamps are not turned off Saturday.
“The answer is very simple. Paying SNAP recipients, paying the military, paying all federal workers—ATC, TSA, Border Patrol — it’s all really simple,” he said. “We are where we are.”
House Democrats have urged the USDA to ensure funding for the program. In a letter sent on Friday, 214 lawmakers urged the department to use the contingency funds to cover SNAP payments.
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What People Are Saying
Lawmakers in a letter to the USDA Friday: “There are clear steps the administration can and must take immediately to ensure that millions of families across the country can put food on their table in November. Choosing not to ensure SNAP benefits reach those in need this November would be a gross dereliction of your responsibilities to the American people.”
Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who introduced a bill Wednesday that would reinstate funding for SNAP, told Fox News Digital: "We need to start forcing Democrats to make some tough votes. We need to start holding their feet to the fire. I mean, do they really not want people to be able to eat? This situation is ridiculous."
Propel founder and CEO Jimmy Chen said in a press release: “Delaying the November SNAP deposit isn’t a minor inconvenience - it’s a life-changing event for tens of millions of people."
What's Next
The government shutdown is set to enter its fifth week, with no clear end in sight, and the November 1 payment date fast approaching, with benefits recipients uncertain if they will see their payments arrive.
Update 10/27/25, 4:41 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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