Gov. Phil Murphy announced a state of emergency yesterday evening in response to the federal government’s attempt at suspending funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – also known as food stamps – amid the ongoing government shutdown.
“With more than 800,000 New Jerseyans relying on SNAP to put food on the table, the Trump Administration’s decision to suspend benefits has created a clear and present threat to the health and safety of our residents,” Murphy said in a statement. “We will not stand by while families face hunger. That is why our state will mobilize every available resource to strengthen our food access networks banks, protect vulnerable communities, and ensure that every resident has access to the meals they need.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has said that, with the government shutdown now dragging on for more than a month, it does not have the funds to continue paying out SNAP benefits, which go to more than 40 million people nationwide. Democrats say that’s not the case, and have insisted that the administration must dip into contingency funds to ensure benefits still go out.
Yesterday, two different federal judges, one in Rhode Island and another in Massachusetts, ruled that the Trump administration is indeed legally obligated to continue paying out food stamps. The Massachusetts case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by dozens of state attorneys general, among them New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin.
“From the beginning, we have said that the Trump Administration’s attempt to cut over 800,000 New Jerseyans from SNAP benefits that keep food on the table for them was blatantly illegal, and today the court agreed with us,” Platkin said in a statement yesterday. “While this fight is not yet over, this is a critical development in our fight to prevent New Jersey families from being harmed by the Trump Administration’s political games. We intend to ensure that this order is complied with and that our residents are no longer at risk of their benefits being cut off.”
Murphy additionally signed two executive orders yesterday related to the SNAP crisis. One creates a new Task Force on the Federal Suspension of SNAP Benefits, and another directs the State Director of Emergency Management to implement the State Emergency Operations Plan and coordinate with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.
The governor said he “reserve[s] the right to utilize and employ all available resources of the State government and of each and every political subdivision of the State, whether of persons, properties, or instrumentalities, and to commandeer and utilize any personal services and any privately-owned property necessary to protect against this Emergency.”
