Supreme Court Justice Halts SNAP Payment Order

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson of the Supreme Court has temporarily suspended an order that required the Trump administration to make full payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by this Friday.

Jackson’s ruling pauses some of the payments until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit can address the government’s request to block the order while the appeal is pending.

This ruling does not delve into the legal merits of the case but offers some relief to the Trump administration, which sought intervention from the Supreme Court on Friday evening.

Jackson noted, “Given the First Circuit’s representations, an administrative stay is necessary for a swift resolution of the pending motions by the First Circuit.”

Her decision favored the urgent request as it is customary for handling emergency appeals from the First Circuit.

Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “Our lawyers will work tirelessly to defend and advance President Trump’s policies,” as she shared on social media platform X.

SNAP provides food assistance to approximately 42 million individuals, but the program’s financial shortfall has surfaced as a significant outcome of a six-week government shutdown.

Cities and private organizations filed lawsuits against the administration following an announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it would cease benefits starting in November, a first for the program.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell originally ruled that the administration must utilize at least $5 billion in SNAP emergency funds, dismissing claims that these funds were allocated only for hurricanes and other unforeseen emergencies.

However, this amount isn’t sufficient for full November benefits. McConnell stated that partial payments would only be permissible if they could be executed swiftly. Both states and the Trump administration have recognized that the appeal could lead to significant delays.

Consequently, Judge McConnell decided on Thursday that the administration must transfer around $4 billion from the Child Nutrition Program to meet the shortfall for November payments, prompting a last-minute appeal from the administration just before the Friday deadline.

Attorney General D. John Sauer argued that if this decision goes unchallenged, it could lead to even more disorder amid the ongoing shutdown.

A three-judge panel from the First Circuit chose not to act immediately on Friday evening.

By the time the administration brought its case to the Supreme Court, the Department of Agriculture had already been in communication with local SNAP directors, indicating that they were working on compliance and payment processing.

Updated at 9:48 PM ET