Supreme Court Blocks Full SNAP Payments Amid Shutdown

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to halt a lower court order that required the government to fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments during the ongoing government shutdown.

The unsigned order, issued by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, pauses the mandate of a federal judge in Rhode Island who earlier this week ordered the administration to deliver full November benefits, using emergency reserves to fill the gap. The justice’s action will remain in place until 48 hours after a federal appeals court rules on whether to impose a longer stay.

Jackson, who handles emergency applications from Massachusetts and other states in the region, acted after the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston declined to immediately intervene. Her order effectively reinstates the administration’s plan to issue partial SNAP payments while the broader funding dispute plays out in court.

The Trump administration has maintained that Congress must appropriate new funding for the program, arguing that courts cannot compel the executive branch to spend money not appropriated by the legislative branch.

“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 intervention marks the latest twist in a fast-moving legal battle over how to sustain the nation’s largest food assistance program during what has become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. SNAP, which supports roughly 42 million Americans — or one in eight residents — had already run out of full federal funding when the shutdown entered its 35th day this week.

Officials in several states said they had already rushed to distribute benefits after the lower court’s ruling on Thursday, hoping to send full payments before a higher court could reverse the order.

In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said more than $104 million in food assistance was released to 337,000 households at midnight. “We wanted to make sure families didn’t miss a meal,” a state spokesperson said.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said state employees “worked through the night” to issue benefits to all eligible households by Friday morning. In Hawaii, officials said they moved “with haste” to process full payments before the Supreme Court could act.

But those rapid distributions drew sharp criticism from the administration, which accused the states of depleting limited federal reserves before courts had fully reviewed the issue.

“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 government’s emergency appeal.

Sauer argued that the lower court’s injunction “makes a mockery of the separation of powers,” saying Congress — not the judiciary — controls appropriations. The administration insists that without congressional action, only partial payments can be made from the $4.65 billion contingency fund available to the Department of Agriculture.

The dispute stems from an order issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who ruled that the Trump administration could not reduce SNAP benefits to 65% of their usual amount, as planned. McConnell said the government must use all available resources, including unspent child nutrition funds, to pay full benefits to recipients this month.

In his ruling, McConnell rejected the administration’s argument that the court lacked authority to direct spending decisions, calling his injunction necessary to “prevent irreparable harm to millions of Americans who depend on this assistance to eat.”

The Supreme Court’s temporary freeze means that states that have not yet processed full SNAP payments must halt distribution until further notice. Those that have already disbursed benefits — including California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Kansas, and New Jersey — will not be required to claw back funds, but further rounds of payments may be delayed.

SNAP benefits provide up to $300 per month for individuals and about $1,000 for a family of four, though the average household receives less, depending on income. With many households already struggling amid the shutdown, food banks and nonprofit organizations have reported surging demand.

The appeals court is expected to act early next week.