Governor and attorney general call USDA action “unconscionable” and demand answers as shutdown halts food aid

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

SANTA FE - Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Attorney General Raúl Torrez are condemning the federal government’s suspension of November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, calling the move “unconscionable” and warning it will harm hundreds of thousands of New Mexico households already struggling with food insecurity.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture memo issued Oct. 24 directs every state to halt November benefit allotments “until such time as sufficient federal funding is provided.” The order, effective Nov. 1, stems from the ongoing government shutdown and blocks states from transmitting SNAP payment files to their electronic benefit processors.

A separate USDA document blames the suspension on “Congressional Democrats’ refusal to pass a clean continuing resolution” and says contingency funds cannot legally be used to issue regular benefits. The department warned that tapping other nutrition accounts would jeopardize school-meal and infant-formula programs.

Lujan Grisham said the decision abandons the federal government’s responsibility to feed families, noting that about 21 percent of New Mexicans rely on SNAP — the highest participation rate in the nation. She said her administration is exploring every available legal and administrative option while accelerating $8 million in state aid to food banks, only a fraction of the $80 million to $90 million typically distributed each month.

“The federal government’s refusal to pay for SNAP benefits in November is unconscionable,” Lujan Grisham said. “Until Congress ends this shutdown and does its job, New Mexico will do everything in our power to keep our families fed.”

Torrez joined 23 attorneys general in a letter demanding answers from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about the department’s legal authority to suspend benefits. The coalition argues the USDA failed to justify its directive and ignored available contingency and Section 32 funds that could continue payments during the shutdown.

The attorneys general warn that even a temporary delay will have devastating effects on the 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP and could violate Congress’s intent that all eligible households receive assistance. The letter also asks whether the USDA’s Oct. 10 directive amounts to a suspension or cancellation of benefits under federal law — and on what grounds either could be justified.

“Congress has already appropriated these funds,” Torrez said. “It is irresponsible to direct states to withhold contingency funding, a decision that will devastate and cause irreparable harm to families.”

Under USDA guidance, states may continue processing eligibility determinations but must restrict spending to minimal administrative functions. Households can still use benefits already loaded to cards before Nov. 1, but no new allotments will be issued until federal funding resumes.

Lujan Grisham said state agencies and food banks are coordinating to respond if federal benefits remain frozen into November.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.