New Jersey has joined 24 other states in suing the Trump administration for what they have called the unlawful suspension of funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The lawsuit, which names the United States Department of Agriculture and its secretary, Brooke Rollins, was announced Tuesday by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
New Jersey’s nutrition benefits program, widely known as SNAP, is fully funded through Oct. 31, officials from the New Jersey Department of Health said in a statement last week.
Hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents and more than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits each month, authorities said.
“The Trump Administration’s failure to fund SNAP during the federal government shutdown is an affront to the more than 800,000 New Jerseyans who depend on these critical benefits to access nutritious food,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.
“I thank Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin for taking action to hold the federal government accountable for their betrayal of America’s most vulnerable working- and middle-class families,” the governor added.
On Oct. 1, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating the government shutdown, the office said in a statement.
On Oct. 10, the USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits, the office said. On Oct. 24, USDA confirmed its position that effective Nov. 1, it will suspend all November 2025 SNAP allotments.
Despite USDA’s claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this very purpose, the office alleged.
The department has also funded other programs with emergency funds during the shutdown but has refused to fund SNAP, the office added.
“It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program,” the office said in its statement.
“New Jersey families are being used as political pawns by the Trump Administration, which is illegally suspending SNAP and the critical assistance it provides to residents who are struggling with food insecurity,” Platkin said. “This is especially devastating in the month of November, when families are gathering and demands on food banks and pantries are heaviest.”
The office said the lapse in funding will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap.
In New Jersey, as of August 2025, SNAP serves about 812,966 individuals, 436,452 households, 340,425 children and 176,706 elderly individuals, according to the statement. The state is also home to nearly 5,700 authorized SNAP retailers.
While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state, officials said.
The 25-state coalition also planned to file a temporary restraining order Tuesday asking the court to immediately reinstate benefits, the office said.
President Trump’s Department of Agriculture said in September that its plan for a shutdown included using the money to keep SNAP running. But in a memo last week, it said that it couldn’t legally use that money for such a purpose.
Joining Platkin in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The Governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
