Vice President JD Vance Condemns Court Ruling on SNAP Funding Amid Government Shutdown

By Mark Swanson | Thursday, 06 November 2025 10:50 PM EST
Vice President JD Vance criticized a federal court decision mandating the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November, calling the ruling “absurd” and an overreach during a government shutdown.

Speaking during a roundtable with Central Asian leaders at the White House, Vance argued that the judiciary should not dictate spending priorities amid the crisis. “It’s an absurd ruling because you have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the middle of a Democrat government shutdown,” he said.

Vance stated the administration aims to restore full SNAP funding once Democrats agree to reopen the government but emphasized that courts should not interfere with fiscal decisions during a shutdown. “We’ll comply with the law, of course,” he added, “but we’re also going to make the government work for people in the best way we can.”

U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ruled earlier Thursday that the administration’s plan to issue partial SNAP payments violated his prior order. The Justice Department announced plans to appeal, leaving millions of Americans’ benefits in limbo.

The Trump administration had intended to halt SNAP payments for approximately 42 million people this month amid the historic shutdown. McConnell’s ruling followed lawsuits demanding uninterrupted benefits, with the judge earlier requiring the use of a $5 billion contingency fund—far short of the $9 billion needed for November.

Vance reiterated efforts to balance legal obligations and fiscal responsibility while prioritizing critical operations. “We can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation,” he said.