The Department of Agriculture issued a memo to states late Saturday evening, threatening to enact financial penalties if states that issued full monthly SNAP benefits for November do not “undo” the payments. This late-night directive from the Trump administration adds to the ongoing chaos surrounding the anti-hunger program that serves more than 42 million Americans.
The memo, signed by Patrick Penn, Deputy Under Secretary of the Department of Agriculture’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, warned states that the administration had not authorized full SNAP benefit payments for November.
“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” the memo stated.
Instead, state program administrators were directed to distribute 65% partial payments of SNAP benefits for the month. The memo also instructed states to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
Failure to comply could result in the USDA canceling the federal share of administrative costs or holding states financially liable for “any overissuances that result from the noncompliance.” However, it remains unclear how the USDA expects states to claw back any unauthorized SNAP payments.
Both the Agriculture Department and the White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The USDA memo was first reported by The New York Times.
This directive comes as some states scrambled to comply with a court ruling issued on Thursday. The federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay full SNAP benefits for November by Friday, rejecting the administration’s plan to partially fund the food stamp program amid the U.S. government shutdown.
Following the ruling, the USDA informed states that it would begin disbursing full SNAP benefits to comply with the court order, even as the administration planned to appeal the decision.
The Associated Press reported late Friday that more than half a dozen states had confirmed some SNAP recipients already received full November payments.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/09/snap-trump-states-food-patrick-penn.html