The Trump administration has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to suspend the full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments that millions of low-income households have depended on since 2020. The directive, issued on November 9, marks the beginning of a formal rollback to the pre-pandemic system, restoring benefit levels based on income and household size rather than the enhanced pandemic-era allotments. Officials cited the end of the national public health emergency as the reason for ending the extra assistance.
Under the new guidance, states have been instructed not to issue full emergency payments for November. While a new rule is being finalized, the USDA’s action effectively pauses the additional funds that had supplemented standard SNAP benefits over the past five years.
Policy and Legal Grounds for the Change
According to the USDA, the decision is part of a lawful rulemaking process. The agency has submitted a final rule to the Federal Register to formally conclude the emergency allotment program. Officials argue that federal law allows for such benefits only when a national public health emergency is in effect-an authority that expired in 2023.
The administration has opened a mandatory 30-day public comment period before the regulation takes full effect. However, its interim guidance means that recipients will see reduced benefits immediately. Trump administration officials maintain that the rollback aligns with Congressional intent and restores the SNAP system to its original statutory design.
Effects on Families and Recipients
This change will reduce monthly benefits for millions of families nationwide. During the pandemic, all SNAP recipients received at least $95 in additional benefits each month, with many lower-income households qualifying for the program’s maximum allowable amount. Those emergency allotments, intended to offset economic hardship during COVID-19, significantly expanded access to food security.
Although the Biden administration ended nationwide emergency allotments in 2023, some states continued issuing extra payments through local emergency declarations. The new rule from the Trump administration is designed to eliminate those remaining extensions, asserting that state-level emergencies no longer satisfy the federal criteria for additional benefits.
Ongoing Legal and Political Disputes
The rollback follows years of political and judicial disputes over SNAP funding. In early 2025, a federal appeals court upheld the Biden administration’s authority to terminate the nationwide emergency allotments. However, state governments-both Republican and Democratic-used alternative mechanisms to continue the aid.
The Trump administration’s latest move seeks to create uniformity by ending all state-based extensions. Analysts say this could trigger new lawsuits or congressional debate over the program’s authority and the role of federal versus state powers in managing food aid during crises.
What Comes Next
States are now required to adjust their systems and inform beneficiaries about the upcoming reduction in their SNAP payments. While the program itself remains intact, benefits will revert to standard pre-pandemic levels.
Once the 30-day public comment period concludes, the USDA is expected to finalize the rule, making the rollback permanent. For millions of households, the transition means less federal food assistance heading into the winter months-signaling a major policy shift in how the government supports low-income families during economic recovery.
