Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general and three governors filed a lawsuit today 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.
“This isn’t complicated – people need to eat,” said Attorney General Rayfield. “If these benefits stop, thousands of Oregonians will be left wondering how to put food on the table. The USDA has the authority and the money to keep SNAP running, and refusing to do so is both illegal and deeply cruel.”
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. Furthermore, USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program.
SNAP provides critical nutrition support to approximately one in six Oregonians — including more than 214,000 children and 130,000 older adults. Any delay or reduction in these benefits would cause real hardship and hunger. The effects would also ripple through Oregon’s rural communities and local economies, where SNAP dollars sustain grocery stores, small businesses, and agricultural producers.
While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state. 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, providing 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 temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately turn benefits back on.
Joining Attorney General Rayfield in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined.
