U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has ordered the Trump administration to keep SNAP benefits funded as the government shutdown continues to drag on.
On Friday, Judge Talwani issued an order requiring the Trump administration to direct emergency funds to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP, funded as the government shutdown is beginning to drag into the months.
The order will ensure that SNAP benefits continue to flow to the 42 million Americans who receive aid just hours before the funding was set to expire.
This order was issued just before a separate federal judge in Rhode Island issued an order mandating similar action from the Trump administration.
While military members and air traffic controllers face uncertainty about their next paycheck, these federal judges are making sure that those abusing welfare to support their lifestyle can still take advantage of the notoriously exploited SNAP program.
A coalition of 25 Democratic governors and state attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its refusal to keep SNAP benefits funded during the ongoing government shutdown.
Considering Democrats are reliant on votes from those perpetually on welfare, it's no surprise to see Democrats push hard to keep those benefits paid out while doing nothing to fund the troops' paychecks.
Talwani, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote in her decision that, "It’s hard for me to understand how this isn’t an emergency when there’s no money and a lot of people need their SNAP benefits."
The issue is there isn't much money to go around as the USDA only has a $5 billion contingency fund which will now need to be spent on food stamps.
The Trump administration wanted to keep that contingency fund intact in order to respond to possible natural disasters.
Democrats don't care about ensuring that disaster response is maintained through the shutdown. After all, its Democrats in Congress who refuse to fund the government unless they secure absurd concessions from the GOP.
It's unclear what will happen from here as the Trump administration has yet to announce how it will proceed following these decisions. It's possible that there will be an appeal, but it would take months for this case to be decided, long after the emergency fund is drained.
Ideally, the GOP will take drastic action to end the shutdown but at this point, it seems unlikely that the GOP will unite and end the filibuster.
This decision also highlights the problem of federal judges appointed by Democrat presidents who consistently make activist rulings at the expense of good governance.
