DOJ attorneys fact-check Trump in real time

Attorneys for the Department of Justice are attempting to walk back President Donald Trump's remarks about funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) in a new filing.

Politico legal correspondent Josh Gerstein reported Tuesday that the DOJ is pushing back on accusations that the Trump administration is defying a federal judge's order as "incorrect," and insisted that it simply needed more details on how to fund SNAP with a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) contingency fund.

"As Defendants referenced previously ... the U.S. Department of Agriculture ('USDA') notified the States of the reduction and generated the table required for States to calculate the benefits available for each eligible household in that State; this action completes USDA’s direct, immediate steps necessary to deplete the full amount of SNAP contingency fund," the filing read.

The DOJ's filing came on the heels of Trump posting to his Truth Social platform that despite the ruling, SNAP benefits "will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!"

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also attempted to clean up Trump's statement, telling reporters on Tuesday that the administration had no intention of defying the federal judiciary. Like Trump, she laid blame at the feet of Democrats, even though the shutdown does not impact the USDA contingency fund.

"The administration is fully complying with the court order. I just spoke to the president about it," Leavitt said. "The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it’s going to take time to receive this money because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position."

On Friday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ordered the administration to tap into the U.S. Department of Agriculture's contingency fund to ensure SNAP benefits are paid out through November. However, Trump said that while he intended to use the contingency fund, he asked the court for more detailed instructions on how the money was to be distributed.

Click here to read the DOJ's filing in full.