Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors today in filing a lawsuit (PDF) against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million Americans buy food, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a “government shutdown.” On October 10, 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 for the approximately 42 million individuals across the country that rely on them.

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. USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown but has decided that come November 1 it will not use the billions of dollars in contingency funds for SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food.

“Emergency funding exists for exactly this kind of crisis,” Nessel said. “If the reality of 42 million Americans going hungry, including 1.4 million Michiganders, isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is. It is cruel, inhumane, and illegal to hold back emergency reserves while families struggle to put food on the table. I want to be clear: this is a choice the Trump Administration is making, but I will continue doing everything in my power to ensure the federal government does not turn its back on the people it is meant to serve.”

The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country, who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families. This lapse 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. It will affect school systems and college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating our students. Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity.

Nearly 13% of Michigan households, or approximately 1.4 million people, receive SNAP benefits. About 43% of those are families with children, and 36% are families with members who are older adults or disabled. In addition, approximately 40,000 veterans receive SNAP benefits in Michigan.

While states are responsible for administering SNAP in their state, the federal government is obligated to fund and set the monthly amount of SNAP benefits. Suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. Where Congress has clearly spoken to provide that SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown, USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise. The coalition will also be filing a motion for a temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately turn benefits back on.