Members of the California National Guard preparing meals for distribution in Los Angeles County, supporting the LA Regional Food Bank.

Gov. Gavin Newsom applauded two federal court rulings that found the Trump Administration illegally withheld Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds amid the ongoing government shutdown, calling the decisions a “major win for all Americans.”

“I’m proud to see courts agree that the Trump Administration has a legal responsibility to support the SNAP program. The USDA needs to release all available funding for this critical program immediately, said Newsom. “We’re not going to sit idly by while families go hungry. It’s cruel, it’s immoral, and it’s beneath us as a nation. California will keep fighting to make sure people get the food assistance they need and deserve.”

In separate cases brought by coalitions of states, nonprofits, and local governments, federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must use previously appropriated contingency and reserve funds to continue SNAP operations. The courts affirmed that the federal government has both the authority and obligation to release billions of dollars in available funds, including $6 billion in SNAP contingency reserves and an additional $23 billion in Section 32 funds.

Although the rulings do not immediately restore benefits, they mark the first step toward requiring the federal government to resume payments for the program that supports over 42 million Americans — including 5.5 million Californians — who rely on SNAP/CalFresh to avoid hunger.

California joined 22 other states in suing the Trump Administration for refusing to fund SNAP despite available reserves. In the meantime, Newsom has fast-tracked $80 million in state funds to strengthen food banks and mobilized the California National Guard and California Volunteers to distribute food to families in need.

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By: Bo Tefu, Inland Valley News