Washington, D.C. — Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday temporarily paused a lower court’s order that required the Trump administration to fully fund food assistance benefits for about 42 million Americans.
The short-term order gives a federal appeals court more time to decide whether the administration should receive longer emergency relief in the dispute over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments.
The lower court had ordered the government to use $4 billion from other nutrition programs to make sure all low-income Americans received full food aid in November. The Supreme Court stepped in just before that end-of-day deadline expired.
What the Case Is About
The dispute began when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that, because of the ongoing government shutdown, it couldn’t fully distribute SNAP benefits for November. Several cities and nonprofit groups then sued the federal government, saying the delay would leave millions hungry.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell sided with the plaintiffs last week, ordering the administration to tap into a contingency fund to cover the payments. But the USDA said that fund—around $4.6 billion—would only cover partial benefits, not the full $9 billion needed.
The judge later ordered the government to pull additional funds from another source, which the Justice Department argued would divert money from Child Nutrition Programs that serve millions of children.
Trump Administration Pushes Back
In its emergency appeal, the Justice Department said complying with the order would mean “raiding a program that Congress has funded to extend one that Congress has not.” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that taking $4 billion from child nutrition programs could jeopardize their ability to operate.
The administration also accused the lower court of overstepping its authority, saying the ruling “makes a mockery of the separation of powers.” Officials warned that transferring the funds so quickly could create “shutdown chaos” and be impossible to reverse.
Judge Questions Political Motives
Judge McConnell, in his earlier ruling, criticized the administration for undermining the purpose of his order. He pointed to a social media post from President Trump, who said food benefits would be distributed “only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government.”
Although the White House later said it would comply with the court’s order, the judge suggested the administration’s actions were influenced by “political purposes.”
What Happens Next
Justice Jackson’s temporary stay allows the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the Trump administration’s request for a longer pause. She instructed the appeals court to act “with dispatch.”
For now, millions of SNAP recipients remain uncertain about when — or if — they will receive their full benefits for November.
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