{"id":170153,"date":"2025-10-31T21:21:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T21:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-administration-ordered-to-pay-snap-benefits-amid-government-shutdown-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T21:21:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T21:21:03","slug":"live-updates-trump-administration-ordered-to-pay-snap-benefits-amid-government-shutdown-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-administration-ordered-to-pay-snap-benefits-amid-government-shutdown-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Trump administration ordered to pay SNAP benefits amid government shutdown – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meanwhile, Affordable Care Act insurance premiums are expected to see big increases due in part to expiring subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight.
Watch highlights of Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosting the annual White House Halloween celebration for trick-or-treaters.
The leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee released a pair of letters that they sent earlier this month and in September to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting the legal rationale for the administration’s counter-narcotics operations.
Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., note that they need this information to conduct their congressional oversight.
The letter<\/a> in September requested military executive orders approved by Hegseth or combatant commanders that are focused on these drug operations.
The more recent letter<\/a> in October requested any written opinions from the Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Legal Counsel regarding the legal justification for these strikes and a list of designated terrorist and drug trafficking groups Trump has said to target.
The senators said Friday that the documents have not been submitted to Congress. The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump baselessly claimed today that people in the U.S. who receive federal food assistance are “largely Democrats.”
“When you look at\u00a0SNAP, and you look, it\u2019s largely Democrats, they\u2019re hurting their own people,” the president told reporters on board Air Force One en route to Florida.
Benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are not distributed based on political affiliation. But according to the USDA\u2019s own data<\/a>, states that have a larger percent of the population receiving SNAP benefits than others include not only blue states, but a number of red states, including Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia and Alabama.
People across the U.S. have been expecting<\/a> SNAP funding to lapse due to the government shutdown. A federal judge in Massachusetts, however, ruled today that the pause is unlawful and a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled the USDA must tap into emergency funds to pay SNAP recipients.
A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute money owed to recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program \u201cas soon as possible,\u201d just one day before funding for SNAP was set to lapse.
U.S District Judge John McConnell\u2019s ruling from the bench came shortly after another federal judge in a separate case said that the Trump administration\u2019s plan not to pay out SNAP benefits beginning on Nov. 1 due to the ongoing shutdown was \u201cunlawful\u201d but stopped short of ordering the Trump administration to disperse funds.
Ruling in favor of a group of cities and community organizations that sued over the cuts, McConnell said that the USDA must fund SNAP using money in a contingency fund. But, he added that if the department finds that the money in the contingency fund is insufficient, then the agency must use other funding sources to make those payments.
\u201cThere is no doubt that the six billion dollars in contingency funds are appropriated funds that are without a doubt necessary to carry out the program\u2019s operation,\u201d McConnell said in his oral ruling. \u201cThe shutdown of the government through funding doesn\u2019t do away with SNAP. It just does away with the funding of it. There could be no greater necessity than the prohibition across the board of funds for the program\u2019s operations.\u201d
Read the full story here. <\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Trump announced on Truth Social<\/a> that he has renovated the bathroom inside the Lincoln Bedroom<\/a> at the White House.
\u201cI renovated the Lincoln Bathroom in the White House. It was renovated in the 1940s in an art deco green tile style, which was totally inappropriate for the Lincoln Era,” he wrote, attaching a photo showing that version. “I did it in black and white polished Statuary marble. This was very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln and, in fact, could be the marble that was originally there!\u201d
Trump shared an image of the renovation inside the bathroom. NBC News previously reported<\/a> Trump’s plans to remodel the room.
Trump has renovated other parts of the White House, including installing a stone patio in the Rose Garden and adding gold trim to the Oval Office. The president has been heavily criticized for the demolition of the East Wing of the White House<\/a> to build the ballroom.
The Lincoln Bedroom was originally used by President Abraham Lincoln as his office and Cabinet room.
First lady Melania Trump’s office today said that public tours in the White House will resume in December.
“The White House will reopen its doors for public tours on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, with an updated route offering guests the opportunity to experience the history and beauty of the People\u2019s House. In celebration of the holiday season, all December tours will feature the White House Christmas decorations on the State Floor,” the Office of the First Lady said in a statement.
Public tours had been suspended<\/a> in August because of the impending ballroom project construction and it was unclear at the time when they were going to resume.
Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a post on X<\/a> this morning that FBI Director Kash Patel briefed her on the bureau’s efforts to thwart a potential terrorist attack in her state.
“This morning, I was briefed by Director Patel on the thwarted potential terrorist attack in our state. As details continue to develop, I am grateful for the swift action of the FBI and MSP protecting Michiganders,” she wrote.
Ohio Republican and Democratic lawmakers unanimously approved a new congressional map that would give a slight, but not overwhelming, boost to the GOP ahead of next year\u2019s midterm elections.
At a meeting this morning, members of the state\u2019s bipartisan redistricting commission approved the proposed map, which was released yesterday as part of an unexpected deal. The map shifted two Democratic-held districts to the right and one to the left while also maintaining 10 districts that favor Republicans and two that are Democratic strongholds.\u00a0Punchbowl News was first to report<\/a>\u00a0details of the deal.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Over the years, a genteel nonprofit organization called the Trust for the National Mall has raised money to help care for the\u00a0cherry trees<\/a>\u00a0dotting the Tidal Basin. It upgraded the U.S. Park Police stables on the National Mall and hosted\u00a0pickleball games<\/a>\u00a0on the grassy expanse between American monuments.
Now, it has a new assignment:\u00a0handling the millions of dollars pouring in<\/a>\u00a0for President Donald Trump\u2019s gilded White House ballroom.
The nonpartisan group is serving as the steward for what Trump has said is\u00a0<\/strong>more than $350 million in private donations from individuals, foundations and corporations to remake part of the old East Wing into a 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
California Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday called Trump\u2019s directive to restart testing nuclear weapons in the United States \u201cweakness masquerading as strength.\u201d
\u201cThis is classic Trump and Trumpism. This guy is historically weak, and these are acts of a weak person that is trying to appear strong,\u201d Newsom told NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d
Trump said Wednesday that he had\u00a0directed the Defense Department<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cimmediately\u201d start testing nuclear weapons, which the United States hasn\u2019t done since 1992.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
The FBI arrested multiple suspects who were allegedly plotting a foiled \u201cpotential terrorist attack\u201d in Michigan over the Halloween weekend, Director Kash Patel said today.
\u201cThis morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend,\u201d Patel wrote in a statement on X.
Patel offered no further information on the plot or the suspects. The case involves federal charges and arrests, but the court documents are sealed as of this morning.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China\u00a0has agreed to buy at least 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, a key agricultural product, for the next three years, which would mark a return to normal levels after months of trade tensions between the world\u2019s two biggest economies.
As part of that agreement, China will buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans during the current season through January, Bessent told Fox Business yesterday.
China, the largest market for U.S. soybeans, had not made any purchases since May, sourcing instead from South American countries such as Argentina and Brazil. The boycott has caused billions in lost sales<\/a> for American farmers, who had pressured the Trump administration to resolve the issue.
The new purchase agreement is about the same as the 22.5 million metric tons of soybeans China bought during the 2024-25 marketing year, which ended Aug. 31. The year before,\u00a0China bought 24.3 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, according to data from the <\/a>Agriculture <\/a>Department<\/a>.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth voiced concerns in his first meeting with his Chinese counterpart about Beijing\u2019s activities around the South China Sea and Taiwan.
Hegseth said he had a \u201cgood and constructive\u201d meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun today on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia, during which he stressed the need for power balance in the Indo-Pacific.
The United States \u201cdoes not seek conflict,\u201d Hegseth said in a post on X<\/a> after the meeting, noting that Washington will continue to \u201cstoutly defend its interests\u201d in the region.
Dong said China hopes to work with the U.S. in promoting peace, but that it will \u201cfirmly safeguard national security interests\u201d and is \u201cfully capable of calmly responding to acts of infringement and provocation.\u201d
\u201cThe U.S. should act with caution on the Taiwan issue and take a clear stance against \u2018Taiwan independence,\u2019\u201d Dong told Hegseth, according to a statement released by the Chinese National Defense Ministry.
Hegseth also met with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, with whom he signed a 10-year military agreement he hailed as a \u201ccornerstone for regional stability and deterrence.\u201d
Affordable Care Act open enrollment kicks off tomorrow, and this year\u2019s enrollment period is expected to see\u00a0the largest increase in costs<\/a>\u00a0since the law went into effect more than a decade ago.
More than\u00a024 million Americans get their health insurance through the ACA<\/a>, also known as Obamacare. In 2026, a perfect storm of\u00a0rising premiums and the expiration of enhanced subsidies<\/a>\u00a0that kept costs lower for middle-class families mean many people will face higher bills or be forced to shop around for cheaper plans. Some plan to go uninsured as a result.
\u201cIt\u2019s a high risk situation for people,\u201d said Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. \u201cIf it comes down to paying for food, power and heat versus health insurance that you don\u2019t know if you\u2019ll need or not, it\u2019s hard to continue to pay for that given how much of your budget it takes today.\u201d
Whether you\u2019re renewing coverage or signing up for the first time, here\u2019s what you need to know as open enrollment begins.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Trump is calling for the removal of the Senate\u2019s filibuster rule<\/a>, to bypass a Democratic roadblock during a government shutdown<\/a> now in its 30th day.
The filibuster is the Senate rule for agreement by 60 of its 100 members to pass most legislation. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 219-213 majority in the House of Representatives.
\u201cIt is now time for the Republicans to play their \u201cTRUMP CARD,\u201d and go for what is called the Nuclear Option \u2014 Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW,\u201d Trump wrote on social media last night.
There was no end in sight yesterday to the partial shutdown, as Senate Republicans urged Democrats to support a stopgap funding measure through Nov. 21, while the latter demanded negotiations to extend expiring federal tax credits.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
More than 25 labor unions \u2014 including United Auto Workers and the National Education Association \u2014 have sent Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins a letter requesting her department release $5 billion in contingency funds to bankroll the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
\u201cSNAP creates union jobs along the food supply chain,\u201d reads the letter, first shared with NBC News. \u201cUnion members are on meat-cutting floors, delivering and processing food, processing SNAP benefits, picking and harvesting the food that ends up on dinner tables, working in America\u2019s forests, and checking out your constituents at the grocery store. SNAP is vital to creating good jobs for hundreds of thousands of American families.\u201d
The government shutdown has put SNAP benefits, which serve millions of people in the U.S., under threat<\/a>. The USDA has said the program will stop Nov. 1<\/a>.
Additionally, the unions want the USDA to \u201ccover the remaining amount needed to fully fund SNAP in November in the absence of appropriations.\u201d
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing \u2018fun\u2019 about hungry children and seniors, veterans losing benefits, or seeing droves of working people forced to spend their mornings in line at the food bank,\u201d AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a news release. \u201cThe administration could continue SNAP without a hitch. Instead, they\u2019re leaning into cruelty to punish perceived political enemies and double down on treating this crisis as some sick political game.\u201d
A USDA spokesperson said in a statement this afternoon that, “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”
“Continue to hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments,” the spokesperson said.
The Trump administration plans to pay\u00a0military members<\/a>\u00a0today by using a mix of legislative and Defense Department funds, according to an official with the White House Office of Management and Budget.
It would be the second time the White House has been able to avoid missing a pay period for troops\u00a0during the government shutdown<\/a>, now in its 30th day. Service members are considered essential federal employees and are required to work during funding lapses, but essential workers typically aren\u2019t paid during shutdowns.
That would bring the total to about $5.3 billion, which is still less than the $6.5 billion that was drawn upon to pay for troops\u2019 paychecks earlier this month. It\u2019s unclear why there\u2019s a difference in the amounts, and the OMB official didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment on that particular point.
Axios\u00a0first reported<\/a>\u00a0on the administration\u2019s paycheck plan for tomorrow.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
NBC News<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Affordable Care Act insurance premiums are expected to see big increases due in part to expiring subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight. Watch highlights of Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosting the annual White House Halloween celebration for trick-or-treaters.The leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee released a pair of letters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":170154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}