McKee responds to Trump order to stop distributing SNAP benefits

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Gov. Dan McKee responded to the Trump administration’s Sunday order for states to “undo” the rollout of SNAP benefits for the month of November.

McKee said that the order was “confusing” and offered “no solutions for hungry Americans.”

Rhode Island had released SNAP benefits for nearly 79,000 households on Nov. 8.

McKee also said that his office was “preparing contingency strategies” to continue supporting food benefits and that EBT cards were still working in the state.

His full statement can be read below:

Another day, another whipsaw SNAP memo from President Trump’s USDA, sowing confusion and making threats but offering no solutions for hungry Americans. Nevertheless, my team is preparing contingency strategies to support November benefits. We have reached out directly to Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) within USDA related to the latest federal communication. At this time, recipients’ EBT cards remain active, and we are seeing Rhode Islanders successfully using those cards. 

I am disgusted by the chaos and hardship that President Trump and his Administration continue to create across the country. While states have been forced to navigate a series of conflicting and erratic directives around SNAP benefits, Rhode Islanders, and all Americans, have been anxious, confused – and hungry.

First, the Trump Administration announced that states would receive only a 50% calculation of November SNAP benefits. The next day, it revised that guidance to a 65% calculation. Then, on Friday, it issued a memo positioning states to move forward with full benefit payments, notifying states that USDA would “complete the processes necessary to make funds available.” Yet, just hours later, the Trump Administration sought a stay of its SNAP funding obligation in the Supreme Court without ever notifying the Court of the Friday USDA memo. And now, USDA has reversed course again, directing states not to move forward with the 100% benefit, with full knowledge that many states, like Rhode Island, had already proceeded with full benefits in reliance on the Friday memo.

This constant back-and-forth has created unnecessary confusion for states and deep uncertainty for families who depend on these critical benefits to put food on the table. We will continue to keep Rhode Islanders updated.

More information on SNAP benefits in Rhode Island can be found here.