Attorney General James Wins Emergency Court Order Temporarily Blocking Trump Administration from Clawing Back SNAP Benefits

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today won a court order temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s attempts to claw back Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and punish states that release them. Attorney General James and 24 other attorneys general and governors filed an emergency motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) last night after the Trump administration sent states an alarming late-night memo directing them to “immediately undo” the release of SNAP benefits. In a Saturday night letter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ignored its own prior guidance and threatened that the release of full November benefits would be considered “unauthorized.” Several states, including New York, had already begun issuing these benefits in accordance with USDA’s Friday memo stating that the agency would soon release full funding. 

“The Trump administration has been relentless in its effort to keep food off of Americans’ plates, but once again a court has stepped in to stop them,” said Attorney General James. “This order ensures that families can keep the food assistance they need and that states won’t be punished for doing their jobs. New Yorkers should not hesitate to use their rightful SNAP benefits as their cards are reloaded. If you have your benefits, use them. My office will deal with the federal government in court.” 

Attorney General James and the coalition sued the federal government on October 28 for withholding November SNAP benefits during the shutdown. On October 31, a federal court ruled in their favor, requiring USDA to use its contingency funds to at least partially fund benefits. On Thursday, November 6, a second judge ordered USDA to immediately release full benefits, prompting the agency to notify states on Friday, November 7 that full funding would be available imminently. Based on that memo, New York and other states began issuing full benefits. Later on the evening of November 7, the administration appealed the court rulings, ultimately obtaining a temporary administrative stay from the Supreme Court, after several states had already transmitted their data to their SNAP vendor.

Then, on Saturday, November 8, at 10 p.m., USDA issued yet another memo reversing its previous communication and baselessly claiming that any state’s release of full benefits was “unauthorized.” The agency ordered states to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025” and threatened to hold states financially liable if they failed to claw back benefits – going so far as to warn that it could withhold the basic administrative funding it is legally required to provide. The following night, on Sunday, November 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the administration’s request for a stay pending appeal, leaving in place the lower court’s order requiring USDA to release full SNAP benefits.

Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts partially granted the coalition’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order, staying the administration’s Saturday night directive and setting a hearing for later today to discuss the full motion.

As of yesterday, November 9, New Yorkers have begun to see their November SNAP benefits reflected on their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. These benefits can and should be used as normal. Attorney General James reminds all New York retailers participating in SNAP that they are legally required to accept benefits as long as customers have a sufficient balance. Any New Yorker who is wrongfully denied the ability to use their EBT card should remind the retailer of their right to do so and immediately report the incident to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). 

In the motion filed last night, Attorney General James and the coalition argued that in issuing four contradictory notices in five days, USDA plunged states into further confusion and jeopardized access to food assistance for millions of families. USDA’s conflicting guidance created operational chaos, forcing state agencies to repeatedly reprogram benefit systems, resend issuance files, and respond to widespread confusion among SNAP recipients. The attorneys general warned that this “whipsaw approach” has strained limited state resources and eroded public trust in the SNAP program. 

The coalition argued that USDA’s Saturday night memo is the latest in a long pattern of arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful conduct. It violated the Administrative Procedure Act by reversing course without explanation, ignoring the states' needs and legal obligations, and demanding the impossible – ordering states to “undo” benefits already loaded onto families’ EBT cards. The coalition also asserted that USDA lacks any legal authority to compel such clawbacks or to penalize states for following prior court orders and the agency’s own guidance. 

Joining Attorney General James in filing this motion are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.