The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted a lower court decision that had mandated the Trump administration to fully fund the November payments of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for approximately 42 million recipients.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted the government an administrative stay late Friday, providing time for the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals to take up the challenge without forcing the administration to immediately tap alternative funds.
The original district ruling had ordered full disbursement of benefits by Friday, citing irreparable harm to low-income Americans if the payments were reduced or delayed. The administration had proposed to use contingency funds to cover only about 65 percent of the usual benefit in light of the federal government shutdown.
While the Supreme Court’s order does not resolve the case permanently, it pauses the requirement for full payments and leaves states and aid organizations in uncertainty as the shutdown continues.