President Donald Trump’s administration Sunday demanded states “undo” full SNAP benefits paid out under judges’ orders last week, but Connecticut has no plans to do so.
The administration’s demand came as the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, marking the latest swing in a seesawing legal battle over the anti-hunger program used by 42 million Americans
“No, Connecticut does not need to take back SNAP benefits already sent to the 360,000 people who count on SNAP for food and who should have never been caught in the middle of this political fight,” Lamont said Sunday when asked about the state’s response to Trump.
The demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture came as more than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they authorized before the Supreme Court’s stay.
Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, warned that states could face penalties if they did not comply. It was unclear if the directive applies to states that used their own funds to keep the program alive or to ones relying on federal money entirely. The Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Connecticut used state money to pay the benefits.
“We continue to assesses what impact this memo may have but those who received their benefits should not worry about losing them, we have their back,” Lamont said.
Lamont said Friday that he authorized the state to pay out the entire monthly cost of the federal food assistance program using state funds.
The governor then said Saturday that, “as of Saturday afternoon full SNAP benefits for November have been loaded onto the EBT cards of Connecticut SNAP recipients.”
According to Lamont’s office, about 65% of the funding is from the federal government and the remainder is state funding authorized by Lamont. Connecticut SNAP recipients should have access to the full funding they would have normally received for the month, according to a statement.
New faces, empty shelves: CT food pantries struggling to keep up as SNAP suspended
“I’m pleased to share the news that as of this afternoon, all SNAP recipients in Connecticut have access to full November funding on their EBT cards,” Lamont said, in the statement Saturday. “Families in need of food assistance never should have been used as political pawns by the Trump administration. While I wish the federal government would have honored its obligation to provide full funding, Connecticut is stepping up and ensuring that recipients receive their full benefits for the month.”
Lamont initially allocated $3 million to Foodshare to help supply food banks around the state with food to distribute to recipients who had run out of SNAP money. The total cost of the program for a month in Connecticut is $72 million and legislators criticized the governor for not doing more. Lamont later said he had with lawmakers agreed to put aside $500 million to address federal cuts, potentially including SNAP funding.
When asked what changed to inspire the move to fully fund the program, Lamont said, “The constant back and forth. I thought we were going to have it fully funded three days ago. I thought the courts said you were going to get partial funding. They can’t make up their mind. We made up our mind. We’re going to take care of the people on SNAP.”
Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general sued to force the Trump administration to maintain the program in November despite the ongoing government shutdown. They won the favorable rulings last week, leading to the swift release of benefits to millions in several states, and the Trump administration belatedly said the program could continue.
On Friday night, however, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused the two rulings ordering the SNAP disbursement while the nation’s highest court considered the Trump administration’s appeal. That led the Department of Agriculture on Saturday to write state SNAP directors to warn them it now considers payments under the prior orders “unauthorized.”
“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” Penn wrote to state SNAP directors. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts said SNAP benefits were processed and placed on EBT cards before the U.S. Supreme Court order Friday night, in line with the previous guidance from the USDA. She said that if Trump attempts to claw back the money, “we will see him in court.”
The Associated Press contributed to this post.