The Trump administration has reportedly ordered states to “immediately undo” any and all efforts to provide low-income families with full food stamp benefits ― the latest action by the White House to block hungry Americans from accessing food aid during the ongoing government shutdown.

A spokesperson for the USDA did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

President Donald Trump and his allies have thrown the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into chaos, refusing to fully fund it until lawmakers end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. About 42 million people rely on SNAP, which is funded by the federal government but mostly managed by states.

After Democrats and some nonprofits sued the administration over SNAP, a court ordered the USDA to at least pay partial benefits using an existing contingency fund. On Thursday, the court escalated the order by requiring the USDA to pay full benefits for this month by using additional available funds. Several states seized the moment to urgently get food aid out to residents at risk of hunger.

The Justice Department then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which issued an emergency order that temporarily blocks full SNAP payments pending review.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers player Ken Landreaux hands out a free turkey at a large-scale drive-through meal offering amid the federal government shutdown and SNAP/CalFresh food benefits delays on Saturday in Altadena, California.

Mario Tama via Getty Images

Americans who use SNAP normally pay for food using an electronic benefit transfer system (EBT) card. States get food benefits out to residents by sending files to EBT processors that then make the funds available on recipients’ cards.

The USDA memo from Saturday night ordered states to only send files for “partial” benefits instead of full benefits, warning they could lose access to SNAP-related federal funding if they didn’t comply ― even if states already began doling out full benefits to feed people.

“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” the memo, written by top USDA official Patrick Penn, read. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”

“Trump’s USDA would rather go door to door, taking away the food assistance people have already received, than do the right thing and fully fund SNAP for November so that struggling seniors and children can eat,” House Agriculture Democrats posted on X. “It is incomprehensible and inconsistent with American values.”