President Donald Trump’s administration told states they must “immediately undo” any steps taken to provide full food stamp benefits in a late-night Saturday memo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture .

“To the extent State sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” Patrick Penn, the deputy under secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, wrote. Instead, states must provide 65 percent of the maximum benefit allotments.

The memo threatened to impose financial penalties on states that did not “comply” quickly with the government’s new orders, the latest in a series of legal battles over the nation’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), thrown into uncertainty due to the extended federal government shutdown.

On Friday, Gov. Maura Healey

See Full Page