Pam Bondi Rips Obama Judge for Diverting School Lunch Funds to SNAP

wokespy.com

Attorney General Pam Bondi sharply criticized U.S. District Judge John McConnell, an Obama appointee, after he ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use federal funds originally set aside for school lunch programs to continue financing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.

During a Thursday hearing, Judge McConnell chastised Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys representing the administration and directed the federal government to fully restore SNAP benefits to states by Friday, arguing that millions of Americans would otherwise go without food assistance.

Pam Bondi recognizes family and friends in attendance as she delivers opening remarks during a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on her nomination to be Attorney General of the United States on Jan. 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

“The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened, and needless suffering will occur,” McConnell told DOJ lawyers.

“Last weekend, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time in our nation’s history. This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided.”

The ruling affects more than 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits.

Federal officials said the $5 billion emergency fund allocated earlier in the shutdown was insufficient to sustain the program through November, prompting McConnell’s order for the USDA to redirect funds from child nutrition programs — including school lunch allocations — to cover the shortfall.

Bondi denounced the move, saying it effectively “raids children’s school-lunch money” to fund the food-stamp program.

“That TRO purports to force the government to divert some $5 billion from the school lunch program to SNAP by the end of today,” Bondi said in a statement Thursday.

She also accused McConnell and the First Circuit Court of Appeals of manipulating the timing of the order to disadvantage the government’s ability to respond.

“Why could we file this brief only this morning, with that clock ticking? The First Circuit clerk’s office made it impossible to file sooner,” Bondi said.

Bondi added that her office had notified the court in advance of the likelihood of fast-moving litigation, but the court clerk’s office “refused to answer its phones until this morning and refused to offer any means of filing this emergency request until it processed certain paperwork during regular business hours.”

According to Bondi, McConnell’s late-day ruling created a “manufactured emergency,” forcing the government into a position where it could not file an appeal in time.

“We ask the First Circuit to get courts out of the business of deciding how to triage scarce funds during a shutdown,” Bondi said, emphasizing that judicial interference in funding priorities undermines executive branch authority and disrupts ongoing federal operations.

The USDA has not yet confirmed whether it will comply with McConnell’s order before pursuing an emergency appeal.

The Department of Justice said it continues to review its legal options as the administration faces mounting pressure to resolve funding disputes affecting food assistance programs, school nutrition, and other federally funded services during the shutdown.