White House ‘fully complying’ with court order on SNAP benefits after Trump's post stirs confusion

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The White House said on Tuesday it is "fully complying" with a federal court order to tap into a contingency fund to distribute Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, clarifying earlier comments from President Donald Trump where he appeared to say he would withhold those funds.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing the administration was working to get partial SNAP payments “out the door as much as we can and as quickly as we can”.

“The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take some time to receive this money because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position,” Leavitt said.

She added, "We are digging into a contingency fund that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war... The best way to get the full amount of SNAP benefits to those beneficiaries is for Democrats to reopen the government."

A federal judge directed the Trump administration late last month to use available emergency funds to keep SNAP benefits going.

Leavitt's remarks came a few hours after Trump sparked confusion when he posted on Truth Social that SNAP benefits “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”

"SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly “handed” to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before," Trump stated.

Asked how Trump’s earlier post did not amount to defying a court order, Leavitt said the president was referring to “future SNAP payments".

“He does not want to have to keep tapping into an emergency fund and depleting it in the case of a catastrophe in this country,” she said. “He wants to have those funds preserved, as they should be.”