Supreme Court Blocks Full SNAP Payments Amid Shutdown
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to pause a lower court order that had required the government to fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the ongoing federal shutdown.
The unsigned order, issued by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, temporarily blocks a ruling from a federal judge in Rhode Island who earlier this week directed the administration to deliver full November benefits by tapping emergency reserves. Jackson’s decision will remain in effect until 48 hours after a federal appeals court decides whether a longer stay is warranted.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals had declined to intervene earlier, prompting the emergency request. Jackson’s order effectively restores the administration’s approach of issuing partial SNAP payments while Congress and the courts continue to battle over funding authority.
The Trump administration has maintained consistently that the Constitution places spending power with Congress — not the courts — and that the executive branch cannot be compelled to disburse funds that Congress has not appropriated.
“The president is committed to reopening the government as soon as Democrats agree to extend funding,” a White House spokesperson said.
The Supreme Court’s move represents the latest escalation in the legal dispute over how to maintain SNAP amid what has become the longest shutdown in American history. The program currently serves roughly 42 million Americans — about one in eight — and had already exhausted its standard federal funding when the shutdown reached its 35th day.
Several Democrat-led states rushed to distribute full benefits immediately after the lower court ruling, attempting to move faster than a likely Supreme Court reversal.
In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers released more than $104 million in benefits to 337,000 households at midnight. “We wanted to make sure families didn’t miss a meal,” a spokesperson said.
In Oregon, Gov. Tina Kotek said state employees “worked through the night” to issue payments. Hawaii officials similarly said they acted “with haste” before the Court could intervene.
The administration sharply criticized the states’ rush to distribute funds, arguing they spent money that may now be legally restricted.
“Once those billions are out the door, there is no ready mechanism for the government to recover those funds,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the emergency appeal.
Sauer argued the lower court’s ruling “makes a mockery of the separation of powers,” emphasizing that Congress, not the judiciary, determines federal spending. Without congressional authorization, the administration says only partial payments can be legally issued from the Department of Agriculture’s $4.65 billion contingency fund.
The dispute stems from U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr.’s order requiring the administration to issue full benefits instead of reducing payments to 65%, as originally planned. McConnell claimed the government must use all possible resources — including unspent child nutrition funds — to avoid “irreparable harm to millions of Americans who depend on this assistance to eat.”
The Supreme Court’s temporary stay means states that had not yet distributed full SNAP benefits must halt payments immediately. States that have already disbursed them — including California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Kansas, and New Jersey — will not be required to reclaim funds, though future distributions may be delayed pending the appeal.
With many families already under strain, SNAP typically provides up to $300 per individual or around $1,000 for a family of four, though most recipients receive less. Food banks in multiple states report sharp increases in demand.
The appeals court is expected to act early next week.