As confusion surrounds SNAP, government says it may be ‘several months’ before payments are made
By Matthew Young, RealWV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Monday brought a bit of good news for SNAP recipients, as the Trump Administration was ordered by two federal judges to utilize emergency funding to maintain the program amidst the ongoing government shutdown – which, at the time of writing, has reached a record-tying 35 days.
Unfortunately for those hoping to see a deposit made to their SNAP cards in the near future, the good news rapidly turned to confusion. While the Trump Administration initially stated that it would comply with the judges’ orders to continue funding SNAP, it would only do so at 50% of the normal benefit amount paid to recipients. However, this announcement did fall in line with U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani’s order that the administration at least partially fund the SNAP program.
Adding even more confusion to the situation was Trump himself, who seemed to quickly reverse his administration’s position. At just after 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to state that SNAP benefits will be “given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” With these comments, it became immediately unclear if the Trump Administration still planned to fund SNAP at 50%, or to defy two judges’ orders and not fund it at all.
Exacerbating the situation even further, on Monday, the WV Department of Human Services (DoHS) announced the implementation of new federal laws regarding able-bodied SNAP recipients, as well as their dependents, as recently established by Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
As explained in a press release from the DoHS, the updated policy includes the following changes:
- Expanded Age Range:
The ABAWD (able-bodied adults without dependents) age range will now include individuals ages 18 through 64. Individuals are considered ABAWD beginning the month after their 18th birthday and remain ABAWD until the month they turn 65.
- Removal of Certain Exemptions:
Previous exemptions for veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth under age 25 have been removed. Individuals in these categories must now meet ABAWD work requirements unless they qualify for another exemption.
- Dependent Definition Update:
The definition for a dependent in the context of the ABAWD exemption has been updated. Now only dependents under age 14 will qualify as a child for exemption from ABAWD requirements. Adults caring for youth ages 14 through 17 must meet work requirements unless otherwise exempt.
- New Native American Exemption:
This section also excludes “SNAP recipients who are Indians, Urban Indians, or California Indians (as these terms are defined by the Indian Health Care Improvement Act)” from ABAWD time limits.
According to the press release, the new laws are expected to impact 36,000 of the approximately 270,000 West Virginians currently receiving SNAP benefits.
In Rhode Island, U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., on Friday, ordered the Trump Administration to distribute emergency funds as soon as it was possible to do so. McConnell further ordered the Trump Administration to provide, at minimum, an update as to how they plan to comply with his order, by noon this past Monday. Although Trump’s initial plan to cover 50% of November’s SNAP benefits seemed to satisfy both McConnell’s order for a Monday update, and Talwani’s order that SNAP be at least partially funded, the president’s apparent walking-back of that plan raised significant questions.
Tuesday brought with it more mixed signals from the Trump Administration. After yet another lawsuit was filed against the federal government, this one demanding that Trump release the full $8 billion required to cover November’s SNAP benefits nationwide, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt seemingly attempted to walk-back Trump’s walk-back.
“The administration is fully complying with the court order,” Leavitt said, during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
But as Leavitt attested to the administration’s willingness to follow the directives given to them, she left considerable wiggle room as to when it would act upon that willingness.
“The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take time to receive this money because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position,” Leavitt noted.
Currently, the Trump Administration says that SNAP recipients could be waiting “anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months” before receiving the much needed funds. For West Virginians, this would seem to directly contradict what Gov. Patrick Morrisey said during his Tuesday press conference, which was held at the Step by Step Family Support Center, in Charleston.
“While we have heard that SNAP cards are going to be turned on relatively soon, they’ll be turned on not at the full benefit,” Morrisey said, adding yet another layer of confusion for those reliant upon SNAP to feed themselves and their families. It is unclear as to where Morrisey “heard that SNAP cards are going to be turned on relatively soon,” but that information would seem to have come from a source other than the Trump Administration, itself.
RealWV will provide continual updates of this developing situation as additional information is made available.
