In a heated exchange, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized U.S. District Judge John McConnell, an appointee of President Obama, for his decision to redirect funds from school lunch programs to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
This judicial order came amid a contentious hearing where Judge McConnell admonished Department of Justice lawyers, demanding that the Trump Administration ensure the full distribution of SNAP benefits to states by the end of the week.
As reported by Gateway Pundit, Judge McConnell expressed concern over the potential consequences of failing to deliver these benefits, stating, "The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened and needless suffering will occur." He further highlighted the unprecedented lapse of SNAP benefits, noting, "Last weekend, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time in our nations history. This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided."
The judge's ruling to reallocate funds from child nutrition programs to SNAP recipients, whom Bondi described as "overwhelmingly lazy," has sparked significant controversy.
Bondi did not hold back in her criticism, denouncing the judge's decision to divert approximately $5 billion from school lunch programs to SNAP. "That TRO purports to force the government to divert some $5 billion from the school lunch program to SNAP by the end of today," she asserted.
Bondi also accused the judicial system of employing underhanded tactics, suggesting that the timing of the court order was strategically manipulated to disadvantage the government. "Why could we file this brief only this morning, with that clock ticking? The First Circuit clerks office made it impossible to file sooner," she remarked.
The Attorney General further alleged that the First Circuit clerk's office was uncooperative, refusing to facilitate the filing of an emergency request until regular business hours. "Despite being notified by the government of the high likelihood of fast-moving litigation, the First Circuit clerks 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," Bondi explained.
She accused Judge McConnell of creating an artificial crisis by initiating the government's response time after the First Circuit had closed for the day.
In her closing remarks, Bondi called for judicial restraint, urging the First Circuit to refrain from intervening in the allocation of limited resources during a government shutdown. "We ask the First Circuit to get courts out of the business of deciding how to triage scarce funds during a shutdown," she concluded.
This unfolding legal battle underscores the ongoing tensions between the judiciary and the executive branch, as well as the broader debate over the allocation of government resources.
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