Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – As part of his continued efforts to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a coalition of 26 states today filed an amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s attempt to block a court order requiring full SNAP benefits to be delivered to the millions of Americans relying on them.

The federal government’s motion, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, comes after a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fully fund November benefits by today. 

“A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide full SNAP benefits, but still the president is continuing down a path of cruelty that will unlawfully impede tens of millions of families across the country from accessing the food they deserve,” Raoul said. “I am proud of the way Illinoisans are stepping up to help their neighbors in need, and I will continue to stand with other attorneys general to ensure the president and federal agencies under his control follow the law.”

Raoul and the coalition filed their brief in Rhode Island State Council of Churches, et al. v. Rollins, et al., arguing that the USDA has the money to fully fund SNAP benefits and should do so immediately to prevent further harm to states. They argue that the USDA’s needlessly complicated calculation of reduced benefits has sown chaos in states.

Raoul and the coalition argue that American families are struggling to meet their most basic needs due to the federal government’s resistance to meeting its legal obligation to fully fund the SNAP program. These significant harms to states will continue unless the full payment of SNAP benefits is issued immediately. Raoul and the coalition urge the court to deny the federal government’s motion for a stay.  

Raoul was joined in filing this amicus brief by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Also joining the complaint were the governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.