In a significant ruling late Sunday, a federal appeals court denied the Trump administration’s request to pause an order mandating full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the ongoing government shutdown. This decision, issued by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, upheld a lower court’s finding that the government’s plan for partial food stamp payments would lead to unacceptable delays.

In her written opinion for the unanimous panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Julie Rikelman highlighted the complications of implementing partial payments. “The administration was fully aware that executing partial payments would pose significant technical challenges, as such a process had never been attempted before,” Rikelman noted. She further criticized the government for failing to take any preparatory steps over the subsequent three weeks to address the potential shortfall, such as making necessary calculations or logistical arrangements.

This ruling maintains U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s order, which mandates that authorities bridge the funding gap for November’s SNAP benefits by reallocating approximately $4 billion from child nutrition funds. The Trump administration had contended that such a move would jeopardize those important programs.

As it stands, the payments remain temporarily on hold due to a previous ruling issued by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday night. However, the recent appeals court decision sets a 48-hour countdown for the expiration of Jackson’s hold, potentially paving the way for the enforcement of full SNAP payments.

It keeps in place U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s requirement that officials fill the remaining gap for November SNAP payments by transferring roughly $4 billion in child nutrition funds, which the Trump administration argued would unacceptably put those programs at risk. 

The payments remain on temporary hold under a Friday night ruling from Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, but the appeals court’s decision begins a 48-hour clock for Jackson’s hold to expire. 

It also comes as lawmakers on Capitol Hill move closer to reopening the government. Just before the appeals ruling, the Senate advanced a vehicle to end the 41-day shutdown after a group of Democrats joined Republicans to provide the necessary votes. 

The 1^st Circuit panel comprised two appointees of former President Joe Biden — Rikelman and U.S. Circuit Judge Gustavo Gelpí — and U.S. Circuit Judge David Barron, an appointee of former President Barack Obama. 

The Trump administration appealed after McConnell, another Obama appointee, ruled the administration was acting arbitrarily and capriciously by not transferring the child nutrition funds to fully fund SNAP during the shutdown.

Earlier, McConnell had ruled the administration needed to, at a minimum, deplete a $5 billion SNAP emergency fund.  

It was not enough to cover November benefits, and McConnell said officials needed to devise a way to recalculate partial payments expeditiously or tap other funding sources to fill the remaining gap. After the government said partial benefits would cause delays, the judge ordered the full payments be sent by last Friday. 

“That unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers,” the Justice Department wrote in court filings. 

“The core power of Congress is that of the purse, while the Executive is tasked with allocating limited resources across competing priorities. But here, the court below took the current shutdown as effective license to declare a federal bankruptcy and appoint itself the trustee, charged with picking winners and losers among those seeking some part of the limited pool of remaining federal funds,” the filing continued.