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By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
November 7, 2025
The Trump administration is once again fighting the idea of feeding Americans. On Thursday, after a federal judge ordered them to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November, the administration ran straight to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking for an emergency stay of the ruling—because apparently paying for food is a constitutional crisis.
Lawyers for the Department of Justice argued that the district court ruling makes a “mockery of the separation of powers.”
“This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers. Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend. Courts are charged with enforcing the law, but the law is explicit that SNAP benefits are subject to available appropriations,” the DOJ said in its filing.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell wasn’t buying it. In his Thursday ruling, McConnell ordered the administration to fully fund SNAP for November by Friday. Last week, he had already directed the government to use emergency funds to make the Nov. 1 payments, but the administration only agreed to partially fund the program, claiming they needed to “save” money for child nutrition programs.
McConnell called that argument “implausible,” accusing the administration of “erroneously and intentionally” conflating the funds. “People have gone without for too long,” the judge said. “Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, the president hosted a Great Gatsby-style party, spent $100,000 remodeling a bathroom, and managed to wreck the East Wing—all while claiming the country couldn’t afford to feed its poorest citizens.
The administration’s latest filing asks the appeals court to let the U.S. Department of Agriculture continue partial payments and to “not compel the agency to transfer billions of dollars from another safety net program with no certainty of their replenishment.”
Because nothing says fiscal responsibility like starving people first and sorting out the paperwork later.
For more background on the case and the SNAP program, visit www.fns.usda.gov/snap.
