Following correspondence from the Trump administration Nov. 8 to cancel previously distributed November SNAP payments, Gov. Tony Evers responded with a simple “no” in a Nov. 9 press release.
“Our administration is actively in court fighting against the Trump administration’s efforts to yank food assistance away from Wisconsin’s kids, families, and seniors, and we are eager for the court to resolve this issue by directing the Trump administration to comply with court orders and provide the certainty to the many Wisconsin families and businesses who rely on FoodShare,” Evers said in the press release.
According to the press release, the correspondence from the Trump administration followed the Evers administration leading a coalition of states and governors to file a letter before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Nov. 8. The letter asked the court to reject the Trump administration’s effort to restrict the distribution of SNAP benefits, according to the press release.
Evers announced Nov. 10 the Evers administration would be joining another multi-state coalition to prevent the Trump administration from taking away November’s FoodShare — or SNAP benefits — according to a Nov. 10 press release.
The SNAP program ran out of funding Nov. 1 due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the longest in American history. A federal court ruling by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John McConnell Nov. 6 directed the Trump administration to release full SNAP benefits for November, according to NBC News.
The Evers administration immediately worked to distribute FoodShare payments to the over 330,000 Wisconsin residents that rely on FoodShare for basic groceries, according to a Nov. 8 press release. In Wisconsin, 700,000 individuals use FoodShare payments, including 270,000 children, according to the Nov. 10 press release.
The Trump administration turned to the U.S. Supreme Court again Nov. 10 asking it to block the ruling by McConnell that required the federal government to fund SNAP benefits, according to SCOTUSblog.
The Evers administration said it will continue to work to ensure Wisconsinites receive needed payments for groceries, according to a Nov. 10 press release.
“Let me be clear — if the Trump administration continues to try to mess with the FoodShare payments that were only just restored to people across Wisconsin, we’ll fight against it with every tool and power we have,” Evers said in the Nov. 8 press release.
A full timeline of the ongoing legal battle over the distribution of SNAP payments as of Nov. 9 can be found here.
