On November 7, 2025, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily halted a lower court’s order requiring the Trump administration to immediately provide full federal food benefits to approximately 42 million Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This temporary freeze was intended to give a federal appeals court additional time to consider whether to grant the Trump administration extended emergency relief while the legal dispute over SNAP payments continues to unfold.
This latest intervention by the Supreme Court occurred just as the Trump administration was approaching a deadline set by a district court judge the previous day. That judge had ordered the administration to fully fund food assistance for November and to use roughly $4 billion from other nutrition programs to meet this requirement. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit had earlier left the district court’s decision in place on a temporary basis, prompting the Department of Justice to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court to prevent immediate full payment.
In a brief order, Justice Jackson explained that her administrative stay would “facilitate the First Circuit’s expeditious resolution” of the Trump administration’s request for a longer pause of the district court’s ruling. She urged the appeals court to handle the pending motions swiftly.
The Trump administration’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court emphasized the financial challenges it faced in meeting the court’s order. The administration stated that it had already exhausted a contingency reserve of more than $5 billion, which was sufficient only for partial SNAP payments for November. To provide full benefits, it claimed it would need to tap into an additional fund designated for Child Nutrition Programs, which support food assistance for millions of children.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in a Supreme Court filing that reallocating billions of dollars from Child Nutrition Programs would jeopardize those programs’ ability to operate throughout the year. He warned that this would put critical food-assistance initiatives at risk, as Congress had specifically funded Child Nutrition Programs but had not allocated money for extending SNAP payments during the government shutdown.
Earlier that day, a USDA official had informed states that the agency was working to comply with the district court’s order to provide full food benefits to SNAP recipients. This notification came amid mounting legal and political pressure over the distribution of food aid during the ongoing government shutdown.
The legal battle over SNAP benefits has intensified over the past several days. SNAP payments are crucial for millions of low-income Americans who rely on them to purchase groceries. However, the USDA had announced at the end of October that November assistance would be delayed due to the government shutdown, triggering concern and lawsuits from cities and nonprofit organizations worried about hunger among vulnerable populations.
Last week, a coalition of cities and nonprofits sued the USDA to compel it to distribute food benefits despite the shutdown. U.S. District Judge John McConnell, overseeing the case, responded by ordering the Trump administration to use a contingency fund to cover SNAP benefits for November. The administration agreed to comply but notified the court on Monday that the contingency funds would only cover partial payments. The USDA then directed states to calculate reduced SNAP benefits, cautioning that it could take weeks for the aid to reach recipients.
The plaintiffs sought further relief from Judge McConnell, requesting that the administration be compelled to make full SNAP payments immediately. On Thursday, McConnell criticized the government for undermining his earlier order by not fully disbursing the aid promptly. He referenced a tweet from President Trump on Tuesday suggesting that full benefits would only be distributed if Democrats reopened the government, stating, “only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”
This tweet raised confusion about the administration’s intentions, prompting the White House to clarify its commitment to complying with the court’s order. Nevertheless, Judge McConnell ruled that the Trump administration must provide full SNAP payments by drawing not only from the contingency fund but also from another funding source. He accused the administration of withholding benefits for political reasons.
In response, the Justice Department sought emergency relief from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that Judge McConnell’s order violated the separation of powers by compelling the USDA to “find $4 billion in the metaphorical couch cushions.” The administration maintained that while $4.6 billion was available in the contingency fund for partial November allotments, $9 billion was necessary to cover the full benefits.
Justice Department lawyers warned that diverting funds from Child Nutrition Programs would undermine those initiatives, which serve millions of children. They contended that the district court’s order disrupted ongoing political