Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to preserve food assistance benefits for roughly 42 million Americans as the federal government threatens to cut off the flow of aid due to the government shutdown.
The states argued the administration lacked the authority to suspend funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Formerly known as food stamps, the program supplements the grocery budgets for lower-income Americans to help them afford food each month.
“Despite having the money to fund SNAP, the Trump Administration is creating needless fear, angst and harm for millions of families and their children, especially as we approach the holidays,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who is co-leading the legal action, said in a statement.
“It is an inhumane and cruel decision to suspend SNAP benefits for millions of Americans,” she said at a rally outside the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday after announcing the lawsuit.
In schools and on college campuses, hungry students will lag behind their peers, said Dr. Diana Cutts, a pediatrician who cofounded Children’s HealthWatch, a nonprofit headquartered at Boston Medical Center.
“SNAP is not a line item,” she said. “Access to SNAP is a baby who gains weight. It is a parent who has the energy to work for their family and bond with that child.”