(MENAFN) The Trump administration has directed US states to halt full food aid payments to low-income families, declaring that full benefits are “unauthorized,” according to a Department of Agriculture memo.

The guidance instructs states administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to provide only 65% of November benefits and to reclaim any funds already distributed above that threshold. “States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” the memo stated. Noncompliance could result in the USDA canceling federal administrative funding for states and holding them “liable for any overissuances.”

The move comes after over 42 million Americans, who rely on SNAP, began receiving partial benefits this month due to the longest government shutdown in US history. Some states had started issuing full benefits following a federal judge’s order last week, but the Supreme Court later issued an emergency stay, allowing the administration to withhold funding while it appeals.

States including New York, Massachusetts, California, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania had already begun distributing full payments. Democratic governors have pushed back: Wisconsin’s Tony Evers responded “no” to the clawback request, while Massachusetts’ Maura Healey stated, “If President Trump wants to penalize states for preventing Americans from going hungry, we will see him in court.”

The SNAP program, which costs nearly $9 billion per month, supports around one in eight Americans. On average, a family of four receives $715 monthly, roughly $6 per person per day.

The latest administrative directive intensifies the ongoing legal and funding battle over food assistance amid the continuing shutdown.

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