Minnesota suing USDA for suspending SNAP benefits during shutdown

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) – Minnesota is among 22 states that have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, claiming the agency is unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“It is hard to be shocked by the cruelty and illegality of the Trump administration anymore, yet I am shocked that Donald Trump is deliberately allowing 440,000 Minnesotans, to go hungry,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said.

“It is a disgrace to the presidency that Donald Trump is using hungry children throughout Minnesota as bargaining chips in the fight over his government shutdown. His actions aren’t just cruel though, they are unlawful.”

Ellison says the 440,000 Minnesotans who receive SNAP benefits includes over 180,000 children and about 67,000 seniors.

Ellison says USDA has authority to continue providing SNAP benefits during a government shutdown, and that Congress intended for it to do exactly that.

The lawsuit is also seeking a temporary restraining order blocking USDA from halting SNAP funding while this lawsuit proceeds.