Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has temporarily paused an order that mandated the Trump administration to complete full November payments for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) by Friday.

This pause by Justice Jackson delays some of the payments until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decides on the administration’s request to halt the order while its appeal is under consideration.

This action does not determine the legal merits of the case itself but offers a temporary break for the Trump administration, which sought intervention from the Supreme Court earlier on Friday evening.

In her statement, Jackson noted, “Given the First Circuit’s representations, an administrative stay is required to facilitate the First Circuit’s expeditious resolution of the pending stay motion.”

Justice Jackson addressed this urgent request as she is typically responsible for handling emergency appeals that originate from the First Circuit.

Attorney General Pam Bondi expressed determination on the social media platform X, stating, “Our attorneys will not stop fighting, day and night, to defend and advance President Trump’s agenda.”

SNAP provides roughly 42 million people with grocery assistance, and the program’s funding lapse has become one of the most visible signs of the government shutdown as it stretches into a sixth week. 

Cities and private groups sued the administration as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the benefit would be cut off starting in November, the first time the program has dried up completely. 

U.S. District Judge John McConnell initially ruled the administration needed to, at minimum, deplete a $5 billion SNAP contingency fund, rejecting arguments that it was only intended for hurricanes and other unforeseen emergencies. 

But it is not enough to cover the full November benefits, and McConnell said partial payments would only be lawful if they could be provided expeditiously. States and the Trump administration have acknowledged the recalculations would likely spark weekslong delays. 

So on Thursday, McConnell ruled the administration needed to move roughly $4 billion from child nutrition programs to fund the remaining gap for the November payments, sparking the administration’s last-minute appeal ahead of Friday’s deadline. 

“If allowed to stand, this decision will metastasize and sow further shutdown chaos,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote of the lower ruling. 

A three-judge panel on the 1st Circuit declined to immediately intervene earlier Friday evening. 

By the time the administration reached the Supreme Court, the USDA had already sent a letter to regional SNAP directors indicating it was working to comply and process the payments.

Updated at 9:48 p.m. EST