In a recent development, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has issued a temporary suspension on an order that mandated the Trump administration to complete full Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) payments for November by the upcoming Friday.
This stay affects certain payments and will remain in place until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reaches a decision on the administration’s request to block the order while it is under appeal. It’s important to note that this decision by Justice Jackson does not address the core legal issues of the case itself but rather offers a brief respite for the Trump administration, which had sought intervention from the Supreme Court late Friday evening.
Justice Jackson, in her written opinion, emphasized the necessity of an administrative stay to enable the First Circuit to quickly resolve the pending stay motion. “Given the First Circuit’s representations, an administrative stay is required to facilitate the First Circuit’s expeditious resolution of the pending stay motion,” she stated.
As the justice responsible for handling emergency appeals from the First Circuit, Jackson was the one to address this urgent request.
In response to the unfolding legal battle, Attorney General Pam Bondi reaffirmed the administration’s commitment, saying, “Our attorneys will not stop fighting, day and night, to defend and advance President Trump’s agenda,” in a post on the social media platform X.
“Our attorneys will not stop fighting, day and night, to defend and advance President Trump’s agenda,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on the social platform X.
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
