TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly on Tuesday, joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“States cannot, and should not, take on the federal government’s responsibility to fund SNAP,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Cutting off SNAP payments is an unprecedented choice made by the Trump Administration and Congress that will harm millions of families across the country. I joined this lawsuit to protect Kansans, because the federal government has a legal and moral responsibility to fund this program, not to take food out of the mouths of Kansas children.”
On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a government shutdown. On October 10, the USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the approximately 42 million Americans that rely on them.
Despite USDA’s claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this purpose. Furthermore, USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program.
The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country, who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families. This lapse will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap. It will affect school systems, including college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating students. Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. The USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity.
In Kansas, nearly 188,000 children, families, and seniors rely on SNAP each month to meet their needs. Ordinarily, more than 93,000 Kansas households would receive a total distribution of more than $34.4 million in SNAP benefits. The Kansas Department for Children and Families, which administers the SNAP program, will continue to closely monitor the situation and its impacts on services the agency provides.
While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP benefits, states are responsible for administering programs in their state. Suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. Where Congress has clearly spoken, providing that SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown, USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise. The coalition will also be filing a temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately turn benefits back on.
Joining Governor Kelly in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania have also joined.
Information about federal shutdown impacts on DCF programs and services is available at dcf.ks.gov.