McKee Refuses to Answer Questions About Authorization of SNAP Payments

McKee Refuses to Answer Questions About Authorization of SNAP Payments

GoLocal has repeatedly asked the McKee administration three critical questions about the SNAP payments made this weekend. 

McKee Friday announced that Rhode Island is moving forward with the process to access full federal SNAP benefits for the month of November. But what isn't known is when the payments were made, and McKee's office is refusing to answer.

After two days of questions, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee has issued two statements — neither of which answers critical questions about how he has handled the payments and raises concerns about whether he acted beyond his authority.

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The GoLocal questions that McKee refuses to answer are:

1) When exactly were the monies transferred?

 

2) What was the total amount?

 

3) What was the legal authorization?

Further adding to the confusion for Rhode Island SNAP recipients and the public is the special website established by the McKee administration, which states that "Governor McKee is deploying up to $6 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding to provide an emergency payment to help over 20,000 eligible families with children (approximately 65,000 individuals) offset the loss of federal SNAP benefits."

But, the statement the Governor sent to the media on Saturday states, "The McKee Administration worked to ensure the issuance of full SNAP benefits for approximately 79,000 households for the month of November. Those benefits are currently accessible on recipients’ EBT cards."  

 

Trump "Claw Back"

The Trump administration has instructed states that made payments that they must “immediately undo” any actions to provide SNAP benefits.

The New York Times reports, “The Agriculture Department issued the command in a late-night Saturday memo, viewed later by The New York Times. That guidance threatened to impose harsh financial penalties on states that did not 'comply' quickly with the government’s new orders.”

"To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized," Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, wrote to state SNAP directors, according to CBS News. "Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025."

While McKee refuses to answer the critical questions, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s attempt to claw back SNAP benefits that states already sent to American families in accordance with guidance from the Trump Administration and a lower court ruling. 

“If President Trump wants to penalize states for preventing Americans from going hungry, we will see him in court. Massachusetts residents with funds on their cards should continue to spend it on food. These funds were processed in accordance with guidance we received from the Trump Administration and a lower court order, and they were processed before the Supreme Court order on Friday night. We will continue to work with Attorney General Campbell to make sure everyone gets the full benefits they are owed. President Trump should be focusing on reopening the government that he controls instead of repeatedly fighting to take away food from American families.” 

The federal shutdown has gone on for a record 40 days.

 

Timeline of Court Action in Recent Days

 - On Thursday afternoon, Rhode Island Federal District Court Judge John McConnell ordered the Trump administration to pay the SNAP payments for November.

 

- The Trump administration, on Thursday, immediately after McConnell’s order, asked the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to halt the order.

 

- The First Circuit refused to immediately take up the issue.

 

- As the First Circuit failed to take action, the Trump Administration requested an emergency stay of McConnell’s order by the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

- The interim order, granted by U.S. Supreme Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, known as an administrative stay, stops the government from having to comply immediately with McConnell's order.

 

- Jackson’s order remains in effect until the First Circuit decides whether to place a longer-term pause on McConnell’s ruling. The appeal went to Jackson first because she is the justice assigned to oversee the First Circuit.