Supreme Court extends brief stay on SNAP payments as shutdown deal nears
With Congress close to reaching an agreement to end the government shutdownthe Supreme Court agreed to let the political process play out and keep in place a brief pause in a Federal Court judge’s ruling that ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November.
About 42 million Americans rely on food assistance from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
On Friday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had granted a stay on behalf of the Court, blocking the lower court’s order that the administration shift some $4 billion from other food security programs to SNAP payments. This Supreme Court stay was set to expire Tuesday evening, but will now remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The administration noted in its Supreme Court filing Monday that Congress appeared poised to reach a matterwhich would render the whole matter moot. He urged the Court to maintain its pause “to let the rapidly unfolding political process reach its conclusion.”
Judge Jackson, who handles emergency orders in federal courts in the First Circuit, reportedly denied the request to extend her initial stay. No other justices noted a dissent from the full Court’s order Tuesday evening.
The Trump administration States warned at the end of October, food benefits would not be paid for November due to the ongoing shutdown. A group of municipalities and nonprofits sued, along with a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the USDA to tap into a contingency fund to cover benefits, something the Trump administration has called for.
A USDA official overseeing SNAP said in a court filing last week that the benefits should be reduced by 35% in November.
The House of Representatives could vote as early as Wednesday on a Funding bill passed by the Senate it would end the 42-day shutdown — the longest in U.S. history. Reopening the government would revive SNAP funding, but it’s unclear how quickly full payments would resume.
