Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday rebuked a federal court ruling that ordered the Trump administration to make full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments for November.
According to Vance, a federal judge has no authority to dictate how the president allocates money in the midst of a government shutdown triggered by Democrats.
“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,” Vance commented at a roundtable discussion with Central Asian leaders at the White House.
He said the court’s intervention was a direct challenge to the administration’s constitutional responsibility to manage limited federal funds during the standoff.
The vice president argued that the administration’s priorities were clear: “What we’d like to do is for the Democrats to open up the government, of course, then we can fund SNAP and we can also do a lot of other good things for the American people,” Vance added.
“But in the midst of a shutdown we can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation.”
Vance added that the White House would continue assessing which government programs to fund during the shutdown but would do so, as he put it, “according to what we think we have to do to comply with the law, of course, but also to actually make the government work for people.”
The controversy began earlier Thursday when U.S. District Judge John McConnell ruled against the administration’s plan to issue partial SNAP payments without drawing from additional funds.
McConnell, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said the plan failed to meet his prior directive requiring full payments.
“This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided,” he said in court.
The Justice Department immediately announced plans to appeal, with attorneys for the administration maintaining that the government’s interpretation of the judge’s order was reasonable and that diverting funds could jeopardize other essential programs for children.
“The government reasonably interpreted the order,” Justice Department attorney Tyler Becker told the court, explaining that reallocating funds risked draining reserves meant for child nutrition programs.
But Judge McConnell dismissed that argument, asserting that “28 million children are not at risk of going hungry should this transfer occur.”
The Trump administration had signaled it would suspend SNAP payments for about 42 million recipients beginning this month as the record-setting shutdown entered its fifth week.
The decision sparked multiple lawsuits from advocacy groups demanding continued disbursement of the benefits.
McConnell ruled last week that the administration must at least exhaust a $5 billion contingency fund designated for SNAP, but that sum fell well short of the estimated $9 billion needed to cover full November benefits.
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The court then ordered the administration to find additional funds or issue partial payments immediately, warning of “irreparable harm” to families who depend on the program.
The White House, however, argued that diverting funds would compromise other critical federal programs, including pay for military service members and funding for nutritional assistance for women and infants.
Officials said recalculating partial benefits could take weeks and potentially delay payments even further in some states.
“If that continued to be the case then the administration was required under this court’s order to immediately make the full payment for November SNAP benefits considering the finding of irreparable harm that would occur,” McConnell ruled Thursday.
As the shutdown continues, ripple effects are spreading across other federal sectors.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that travelers could face significant disruption if the impasse lasts into the Thanksgiving holiday.
He said air traffic controllers, many of whom have already missed two paychecks, are losing morale.
“This morning, they’re getting their pay stubs that they’re going to get another big fat zero, no paycheck for the second time,” Duffy said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
He noted that controllers are struggling to make ends meet and that “it’s really hard to navigate a full month of no pay.”
@SecDuffy: "Figure this out. Open the government up. Let's not hold Americans hostage." pic.twitter.com/TOlKnZdEdt
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Duffy predicted more “significant disruptions in the airspace” if the shutdown persisted.
“As we come into Thanksgiving, if we’re still in the shutdown posture, it’s going to be rough out there, really rough,” he warned.
The Department of Transportation has since reduced the number of flights at several major airports to compensate for staff shortages.
Reports indicate that about forty airports have already cut flights by 10 percent to manage the shortage of air traffic controllers.
Passengers across the country have faced increasing delays and cancellations.
President Trump, speaking to reporters, said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is “doing everything possible to ensure safety,” adding, “They want to make sure it’s safe.”
Amid the disruptions, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, floated an unusual plan to use city funds to pay local air traffic controllers as they go without paychecks during the shutdown.
According to Politico, Johnston’s proposal would need FAA approval before it could move forward.
The city submitted a waiver request to the agency but has yet to receive a response.
Johnston defended the move, calling Denver International Airport “the largest economic driver in the Rocky Mountain West.”
He said the airport is “critical to not just our quality of life, but to our economic health.”
The mayor added that the city would expect to be reimbursed once the shutdown ends but acknowledged potential risks.
“We understand there’s some risk,” Johnston told reporters. “We think the greatest risks of all are shutting down the economy by stopping air travel, which is a major economic driver for us.”
