California sues White House to restore SNAP benefits as cutoff looms
California and 23 other states are suing the White House to restore public benefits days before 40 million Americans are set to lose access to federal food aid as the government shutdown enters its fourth week.
Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that they had filed suit in a federal Massachusetts court, along with states like Arizona, Minnesota, Kansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Kentucky to restore funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
SNAP provides an average of $187 a month to low-income households to supplement their grocery budgets. On Monday, the Trump administration said it would not use emergency funds to restore SNAP funds. Last week, Newsom said the 5.5 million Californians who rely on SNAP, known in-state as CalFresh, would likely not see their benefits come through starting Saturday.
“It is deliberate. It is intentional. They have the funds. They’re just not using them,” Bonta told reporters at a press conference. “The vast majority of SNAP recipients are families with kids, elderly individuals and people with disabilities. These are our most vulnerable. Societies should be judged on how we treat the most vulnerable. Trump gets an ‘F’ for what he is doing here to our kids and to our most vulnerable Americans here in California.”
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the SNAP funding suspension illegal and issue a temporary restraining order, which expedites the process and could result in a ruling as early as Tuesday, Bonta said.
The website for the Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, blamed Senate Democrats for the lapse: “Bottom line, the well has run dry.... We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House, and have traded blame with Democrats for not agreeing to reopen the government, which has been shuttered since Sept. 30. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bonta said the “well being dry” was a “lie,” pointing out that the USDA’s contingency fund had $6 billion it could easily tap: “Trump and his administration are willing to put more than 41 million Americans at risk of hunger, at risk of food insecurity, at risk of malnutrition, if it gives them a new play in their twisted political game.”
The Attorney General has sued the federal government 45 times in the 40 weeks Trump has been in office.
State Health Secretary Kim Johnson asked residents to donate to or volunteer at local food banks. The state sent $80 million to food banks and ordered California National Guard members to pass out food aid starting last week.
Newsom, who has been taking shots at Republicans on social media, highlighted Trump’s focus on the ongoing White House ballroom renovation and Republicans’ prayer breakfasts as “intentional cruelty.”
“This is a holiday season. This is when food banks are already busy. This is when there’s already a lot of pressure and anxiety,” he said, naming rocketing prices for beef and Halloween candy. “This is about cruelty, period. That’s all this is about.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 9:36 AM with the headline "California sues White House to restore SNAP benefits as cutoff looms."
