US supreme court issues emergency order blocking full Snap food aid payments | US federal government shutdown 2025
The high court issued an emergency order temporarily blocking all Snap food assistance payments.
The high court’s decision comes after the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court on Friday to block a judge’s decision to distribute all of November’s monthly food stamp benefits amid a U.S. federal government shutdown.
After that blocking request was denied, the Trump administration appealed to the high court to block the order to fully fund Snap food aid payments.
Application to stay reader: “If forced to transfer funds to Snap to make the full November allocations, the government has no way of recouping these expenses, which is irreparable harm. Once these payments are made, there is every indication that the States will pay them immediately. And once distributed, the government will not be able to recover any funds. Worse still, these damages will only increase if the following decision stands.
“If the shutdown continues, there is every reason to expect that the court below will not order the government to tap these funds again in December to support Snap, which will create a larger gap in the budget for child nutrition programs.”
The application, filed around 7 p.m. ET, also requested the high court order an “immediate administrative stay of the district court’s decisions until 9:30 p.m. Friday.”
Shortly after 9:30 p.m., Attorney General Pam Bondi shared A memo on
US district judge John J McConnell Jr. had given the Trump administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Snap, after the administration announced last month that it would not pay benefits for November due to the shutdown.
On Friday, Patrick Penn, assistant secretary of the Department of Agriculture. wrote in a note It states that the government will for now “complete the necessary processes” to fully fund Snap and that the funds will be made available on Friday.
But on Friday, the Trump administration asked the appeals court to put on hold any court order requiring spending more money than is available in the emergency fund.
The court filing comes despite Britt Cudaback, a spokeswoman for Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, saying on Friday that some Snap buyers in the state received their full November payments overnight on Thursday.
“We have received confirmation that payments have been made, including members reporting that they can now see their balance,” he said.
The court was grappling with weeks of uncertainty over the food program, which serves nearly one in eight mostly low-income Americans.
Last week, in separate rulings, two judges ruled that the government should pay at least some of the benefits using an emergency fund. He initially said he would cover half but later said he would cover 65%.
