Supreme Court blocks mandate to cover SNAP benefits — for now

The Supreme Court late Friday night temporarily blocked an order that would have forced the government to restock the nation’s largest anti-hunger program — a move the agency claimed would require “washing away school-lunch money” to feed families.

The ruling, issued by Associate Justice Kitanji Brown Jackson on behalf of the court, granted a short stay to the district court’s order to force the Trump administration to pay $4 billion for food stamps – officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP – until November during the government shutdown.

The ban ends 48 hours after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the first time ruled on whether to compel the payment or allow food aid for the millions of Americans who rely on it.

The courtroom drama began late Thursday, when a U.S. district judge ordered the federal government to pay $4 billion by 5 p.m. Friday.

The agency responded with a spirited appeal, filing in the First Circuit over breakfast on Friday and then in the Supreme Court over lunch.

“There is no legal basis for an order directing the USDA to somehow find $4 billion in a metaphorical couch cushion.” Gen. Brett A. Shumate wrote in the First Circuit Appeals.

The administration’s only option would be to “starve Peter to feed Paul” by cutting school lunch programs, Shumate wrote.

On Friday afternoon, the appeals court declined to immediately overturn the lower court’s order, saying it would soon rule on the merits of the funding order.

The agency immediately appealed to the Supreme Court and asked the judges to stop the eastbound movement at 9:30 p.m.

“The district court’s decision is unconscionable at every turn,” Attorney General D. John Sauer wrote in his petition, saying it would “metastasize” into “further closed confusion.”

SNAP benefits are a key struggle in the ongoing government shutdown. California is one of several states whose agency is suing to restore the safety net program while negotiations continue to end the impasse.

Millions of Americans have struggled to afford food since benefits ended on November 1, prompting many Republican lawmakers to join Democrats in calling for an emergency shutdown.

The Trump administration was previously ordered to release emergency funding for the program that it said would cover benefits through mid-November.

But the process was “difficult and confusing” and “riddled with errors,” according to a brief filed by 25 states and the District of Columbia.

Some states, including California, have begun distributing SNAP benefits for the month. Others say partial funding is an active shutdown.

“Many states’ existing systems would require complete reprogramming to accomplish this task, and given the volatile — and rapidly changing — nature of USDA’s guidance, it is impossible to accomplish this task quickly,” the brief said.

“By recalculation is necessary [the government’s] The plan will delay November benefits [state] residents for weeks or months.”

In response, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island ordered full payment of the food items by the end of the week. He accused the government of preventing it from being used for political gain.

“Faced with a choice between the comfort of development and the delay of entry, [the administration] It chose the latter — a result that adds predictable harm and undermines the purpose of the program it administers,” he wrote.

“This court is not indifferent to the true motivations of the administration,” McConnell wrote. “Regardless of child nutrition funding, these statements make clear that the administration is withholding full SNAP benefits for political purposes.”

The Supreme Court has now extended this period to at least the end of the week. A full decision from the First Circuit or the Supreme Court could overturn it entirely.

The First Circuit is currently the nation’s most liberal, with five active judges, all of whom were appointed to the bench by Democratic presidents. But the Supreme Court has a conservative majority, and routinely sides with the administration in emergency decisions.

While the First Circuit decides, the two sides are left arguing about how many children will go hungry if one prevails.

More than 16 million children rely on SNAP benefits. Nearly 30 million are fed through the national school lunch program, which the government now says must comply with a court order.

But the same pool of cash has already been used for Women, Infants and Child Development, which is a federal program that pays for infant formula and other basics for some poor families.

“This clearly undermines the advocates’ point, because WIC is an entirely separate program from child nutrition programs,” McConnell wrote.

In Friday’s ruling, the First Circuit panel said it would issue a full ruling “as soon as possible.”

In her ruling, Justice Jackson said it was expected “with dispatch”.