States Sue Trump Administration To Keep Food Stamps Amid Government Shutdown

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A large group of states sued the Trump administration Tuesday in an attempt to prevent the expiration of food stamp benefits this weekend amid a lengthy government shutdown, blasting the Agriculture Department’s decision to cut benefits as “arbitrary and capricious.”

The lawsuit, filed by 25 states and Washington, D.C., argues the federal government has a “statutory obligation” to maintain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The states also argued the Agriculture Department’s suspension of food stamps, which will take place November 1, is arbitrary, citing available reserve funding for the program that the Agriculture Department said it would not use in a memo last week.