Trump Skewered by Judges before SNAP Deadline

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1:13Michael Popok:It may be Halloween, but we got some breaking news coming out of two separate Obama-appointed judges, one in Rhode Island, Judge McConnell, one in Boston, Judge Talwani. And they have both, in their own way, They're trying to force the Trump administration to make snap food stamp payments and use a$6 billion contingency fund in order to avoid 44 million Americans suffering from hunger and malnutrition by Monday. Two separate cases. One brought in Rhode Island in front of Judge McConnell, brought by cities and public interest groups. One brought by 22 states in Massachusetts in front of Judge Talwani.

1:55Michael Popok:Two different orders, which basically get to the same place, forcing the Trump administration to use$6 billion at least of contingency funds that Congress had allocated during the shutdown to pay for SNAP payments to avoid this major irreparable harm to people who are suffering. McConnell does it one way. Talwani does it another. I'll explain to you why I think they each did it separately in a different way here on Midas Touch and Legal AF with this breaking news. 44 million Americans, children, babies, disabled and elderly count on SNAP payments, food stamp-like payments. And in November 1, there is no funding except for contingency funding.

2:39Michael Popok:There's about$6 billion in contingency funding that's available, that was made available. But of course, Donald Trump is playing politics with people's lives. He effectively ordered his secretary of the Department of Agriculture, which is the regulator over these funds, not to pay, despite Congress saying they should pay during a shutdown. Despite the fact that in 2019, as Judge McConnell observed during his hearing today that just concluded moments ago, that the funds, the contingency funds, the rainy day funds were used in 2019 to avoid harm to children and babies and disabled and elderly. So why can't it be done now?

3:16Michael Popok:So that's what's at stake. plus additional funding to make up for the shortfall. There may only be$6 billion of the$8 billion necessary for November payments, but there are other funds. They're called Section 32 funds. You get them from customs receipts, money that comes into the government. It's sort of like the government's slush fund that comes in every day. So each judge, interestingly, two different lawsuits, two different groups of plaintiffs, all trying to reach the same conclusion. Let's start with Judge Talwani in Boston, who in the last couple of hours finally issued her temporary restraining order.

3:55Michael Popok:I have a copy of it. It's going to be up on Legal AF Substack. And in her restraining order, she does it differently. I think she's slightly concerned that she's been reversed before. And she's worried about a series of United States Supreme Court decisions over the summer, over the spring and summer, in which they've generally sided with the Trump administration in his efforts to cut off funding, like during the Doge period. And then got mad at courts, including in Massachusetts, like Judge Young, where they ordered funding to be reinstated. Oh, no, you can't do that under those certain circumstances.

4:29Michael Popok:So Tawani, especially coming out of Massachusetts with Judge Young, who got reprimanded by the Supreme Court for doing that, found a way not to order funding to be immediately provided by a temporary restraining order. Instead, her order says, I'm going to give you till Monday for the agency, the Department of Agriculture, to come back to me with a plan. Now that I've told you that your interpretation of the statute is wrong, that you even know there's only partial funding available, you are to use the partial funding to keep the program alive and keep these people alive. Now that I've clarified that for you, come back to me on Monday, this Monday, with a plan to pay.

5:09Michael Popok:I'm holding the temporary restraining order in abeyance, meaning she's ordering them with instructions to make them do the right thing. If they don't do the right thing, she may come back and issue that temporary restraining order. That was two hours ago. Now we have Judge McConnell, same issue, snap payments, 44 million people,$8 billion, but a different group of plaintiffs brought the case, this public interest groups and cities. And the judge, in his argument, he came out right out and said in the hearing today, you've used the contingency funds in the past. You know that this doesn't suspend the program.

5:47Michael Popok:You know that you can make partial payments. So I am ordering you. We don't have the written order yet. It's coming later today. But he said, I am ordering you, I am entering the temporary restraining order, I am ordering you to make those payments starting on Monday. And report back to me on a regular basis as to the payments that are being made. So he didn't seem as concerned about the United States Supreme Court as I think Judge Talwani is. So this is interesting, right, from a legal AF teachable moment to see how two different judges, both Obama appointees, both in the New England area, how they separately come at this.

6:25Michael Popok:Talwani, a little more cautious, a little more commercial, a little more pragmatic. Let me make you do the right thing. And if you don't do the right thing, then I can nail you with a temporary restraining order. But Connell cut to the chase. It was like, effectively, I don't care what the United States Supreme Court says about funding. I'm making an order that you're going to fund. Look at me. I've been shaving for years, and for just as long, I've been frustrated with overpriced blades that dull too fast and leave my neck irritated. I was spending like$30 for eight refills. Total scam. That's why I switched to Harry's Plus, and I'll be honest, I was blown away.

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7:45Michael Popok:You'll get the all new Harry's Plus Razor, one refined five-blade cartridge, a two-ounce foaming shave gel, and a travel cover to protect your blades on the go. Just head to harrys.com slash legal AF to claim this offer. And after you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them that we sent you. Good news is both of these orders now put the Trump administration in a vice. Now they don't like these rulings, I am sure. Secretary Rollins, she already said, I don't know if I'm going to comply with an order to make the payments. We're evaluating our options, she said in a statement.

8:23So I think Talwani may

8:26Michael Popok:already have her answer. I don't think she's going to like the response on Monday from the federal government about payments. Because what she said to them in court, this is the reporting from the hearing with Talwani yesterday. She said when they started double talking and tap dancing, the lawyers for the Department of Justice and the U.S. Agriculture Department about, oh, well, there's not really the program. There's really no program to fund because the funding expired. And therefore we can't. She said, that's lawyering. I don't want to hear lawyering. I want to hear agency action. So here she's compelling agency action.

8:58Michael Popok:And she avoids that sticky little problem McConnell has, the other judge, and that she's not ordering funding be made. She's ordering them to go back now with the reinterpretation from the court to go back to the drawing board and come up with a plan to fund. That's different. McConnell's like, F that. This is my interpretation. We are funding, ladies and gentlemen. Let me read to you from Judge Talwani's observations in her order. She says on page nine that at core defendants, that's the Trump administration, conclusion that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is statutorily prohibited from funding SNAP, this program, because Congress has not enacted new appropriations, is erroneous.

9:42Michael Popok:To the contrary, defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated contingency reserve, that's the$6 billion, when necessary, and also have discretion to use other appropriated funds as detailed below. Like, go search the couch for change. Go use Section 32 funds and make up the difference from the custom receipts from customs payments. That's a good suggestion. She goes on to say, on page 13, as a matter of law then, defendants erred in concluding that the United States Department of Agriculture is statutorily prohibited from using the contingency reserve. Plaintiffs are therefore likely to succeed on the merits.

10:24Michael Popok:Now, where she kind of did something artful to try to thread the needle and avoid being reversed is that on irreparable harm, which is another element of a temporary restraining order, she said, we can avoid irreparable. I see irreparable harm, but I don't see it yet for the plaintiffs. I think it can be avoided if there's agency action by Monday. If you can reinterpret your rules and come back to me with a plan to pay, we can avoid the irreparable harm. Sure, there's going to be some people that aren't going to get paid on Monday. But, you know, I hate to be crass, but we're going to, they might be able to be paid in the future and back paid and all this.

11:00Michael Popok:So I want to know more on Monday. She basically kicked the can down the road, but with the threat of a temporary restraining order. What she said on her conclusion for this judge, this is separate from the McConnell judge in Rhode Island. She's saying that her motion for restraining order in front of her, temporary restraining order, remains under advisement, meaning I'm going to hold it. I'm going to keep my powder dry. No later than Monday, defendants shall advise this court whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November and give me their timeline, including about additional funding.

11:38Michael Popok:I want to see agency action. McConnell from the bench said, I'm issuing the temporary restraining order. You're going to be making payments. Wait till you see my written order. Now, when I get the written order, I'll come back on Midas and Legal AF, Legal AF Substack, Legal AF YouTube, and I'll give you the updates. But we wanted to kind of come out of the gate with the story because it's so important to so many Americans as Donald Trump just wants to put them in a vice and harm some of the most fragile, some of the most disadvantaged Americans that we have. We're supposed to be rallying around the disadvantaged.

12:15Michael Popok:Utah's considering putting homeless people in camps so that others don't have to see them being homeless. This is not the humanity of our country. This is not patriotism. There should be an uproar in the halls of Congress to help 44 million people, many of them because they live below the poverty line in red states. It's the blue states, effectively, that brought the case and the blue cities, but it's the red states that are suffering and their attorneys general just sitting on the sideline. Not bringing that. There's no red state that brought a case. Now, think about that. There's not one red state attorney general that brought a case to help their people prevent starvation and suffering.

13:01Michael Popok:None. That's disgusting. We'll continue to follow it right here on the Midas Touch Network. Hit the free subscribe button here. And we're going to hit 900 ,000 subscribers in our year in the next two days on Legal AF YouTube. Help us get there. The bigger our subscriber base is, the more street cred we have to do the work that you want us to do for our honest commentary. Same thing. Slide over to Legal AF Substack where I'll post this order and the one from Judge McConnell as it comes in. So you can read it along with a lot of other commentary and video work there. Become a paid member for$7 a month.

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