Fighting to continue protecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the month of November, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and three governors in filing a further motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In the motion for a TRO, the coalition urges the court to hold a hearing later today because of the conflicting guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) since November 3. USDA’s latest guidance document, released on Saturday, November 8, claims that sending full SNAP payment files “was unauthorized” and that the states must “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.” In California, SNAP benefits already flowed to many recipients pursuant to an order by the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Thursday, November 6, requiring the Trump Administration to fully fund November SNAP benefits. On Friday, November 7, in response to the court’s order, USDA notified states that it was “working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances” and that it “will complete the processes necessary to make funds available to support your subsequent transmittal of full issuance files to your EBT processors.” This morning, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the coalition’s request to pause USDA’s November 8 guidance document from taking effect and set a remote hearing for today at 12:30 PM PT.
“The Trump Administration does not want full November SNAP benefits to be issued. That should be clear as day by now. It is fighting us tooth and nail to stop vital food assistance from reaching more than 41 million low-income Americans. My fellow attorneys general remain undeterred. We have not shied away from a fight, and we certainly have no plans to start now,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We are back in court because President Trump and his Administration have issued public threats against states that have already issued full November SNAP benefits. If the Trump Administration is looking for someone to admonish, it need only look in the mirror.”