Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted U.S. District Judge John McConnell — appointed under Barack Obama — after he ordered the USDA to divert billions from children’s school-lunch programs to fund SNAP benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown.
During a Thursday hearing, Judge McConnell reprimanded DOJ attorneys and demanded the Trump Administration ensure SNAP funding was restored by Friday, arguing that failure to act would lead to “needless suffering,” hunger, and overwhelmed food-pantry systems.
More than 40 million Americans depend on SNAP, and officials confirmed the $5 billion emergency fund had run dry, leaving November benefits unfunded. McConnell’s ruling directs the administration to pull the money from federal child-nutrition allocations to cover the shortfall — a move critics say punishes students to subsidize the program.
“That order forces the government to raid school-lunch money to instead fund SNAP benefits,” Bondi wrote, calling the ruling “lawless” and reckless.
Bondi also accused the judge and the First Circuit Court of manipulating the timing of the order to disadvantage the government, saying it was issued after business hours, preventing an immediate response. She claims the appellate court clerk’s office refused calls and filings until the next morning despite knowing urgent action was needed.
“Judge McConnell manufactured this emergency, then started the clock after the courts closed,” Bondi said. “This isn’t judicial oversight — it’s judicial interference.”
Bondi emphasized that Congress — not the courts — is responsible for resolving funding disputes during a shutdown.
“Courts should not be deciding how to allocate federal resources,” she added. “When judges do this, they disrupt constitutional separation of powers.”