Governor Evers defends decision to pay for FoodShare benefits amid government shutdown
LA CROSSE, Wis. (CBS 58) – Governor Tony Evers visited Wafer Food Pantry on Monday, Nov. 10, as he defended the state’s recent decision to load federal food assistance onto EBT cards despite efforts from the Trump decision to “undo” it.
Some states, including Wisconsin, received a memo from the USDA suggesting states “must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
The governor said Wisconsin loaded benefits to cards consistent with an active court order and would not be following the Trump administration’s demands.
“Hell no,” Evers said in La Crosse on Monday. “The people that are part of this program deserve 100%. We did it exactly like the judge said it was going to happen.”
Evers led a coalition of governors filing a letter before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday asking the court to reject the Trump administration's effort to halt SNAP payments.
“He’s not going to do it,” Evers said. “That is just not gonna happen. He can claw all he wants; he can get his big fingers out there and start bringing it back. It’s not going to happen.”
In the court filing, it said the state is “now at risk of having insufficient SNAP funds to reimburse local food stores and retailers for FoodShare members.”
Despite some concerns from Wisconsin businesses about being reimbursed for these payments, Evers said there shouldn’t be any uncertainty.
“Everything that’s happening right now should have happened,” Evers said. “It’s 100% paid for by the federal government, just like it always has, so there’s nothing new there.”
This back and forth over federal food assistance comes as U.S. senators voted on a deal that would be a step toward reopening the federal government. Under that deal, it would push conversations surrounding Affordable Care Act subsidies to December.
The discussion surrounding rising premiums has been a major sticking point for Democrats during the shutdown. As this deal pushes back those conversations, Evers said people have a reason to be concerned.
“At the end of the day, I can’t believe that the federal government is going to allow increases in those premiums to be double or triple or some obnoxious thing, and essentially get rid of the Affordable Care Act,” Evers said. “It’s just wrong.”
A hearing was held in federal court on Monday afternoon related to the decision from the Trump administration. This also comes as lawmakers work to reopen the federal government.