Supreme Court blocks order requiring full SNAP funding during shutdown
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The U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary block on Friday on a lower court ruling requiring the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program during the government shutdown.
The ruling came shortly after a federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s request to temporarily block the lower court ruling.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jack McConnell rejected the administration’s effort to only partially fund a welfare program for nearly 42 million low-income Americans for November as the shutdown extended, giving the government 24 hours to comply.
McConnell: ‘People have been deprived for too long’ he said in court.
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Volunteer Bruce Toben packages food during an emergency food distribution at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Mitzvah Food Program in Philadelphia on Friday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Following the appeals court’s decision, the Trump administration filed an emergency petition with SCOTUS late Friday.
“Given the imminent, irreparable harm that will be caused by these orders requiring the government to transfer approximately $4 billion by tonight, the Attorney General respectfully requests an immediate administrative stay of the orders no later than 9:30 p.m. tonight pending the determination of this petition,” an administration spokesperson told Fox News.
New York Attorney General Letitia James responded to the Supreme Court decision on Friday, calling it a “tragedy.”
“This decision is a tragedy for the millions of Americans who rely on SNAP to provide for their families. It is a shame that the Trump administration has chosen to fight this in court rather than fulfill its responsibility to the American people,” he said in a statement.
The Supreme Court ruling comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it was working to comply with the judge’s order to fully fund the program for November.
“FNS is seeking to implement the November 2025 full benefit issuances in accordance with the Rhode Island District Court’s November 6, 2025 order,” Patrick Penn, USDA assistant secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, said in a letter sent Friday to all regional administrators of the SNAP program.
He added: “Later today, FNS will complete the necessary processes to make funds available to support subsequent transmission of full issuance files to your EBT processor.”
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An EBT sign is seen in the window of a grocery store in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Penn said the department will keep regional directors “as updated as possible on future developments and appreciates your continued partnership to serve program beneficiaries nationwide.” Government agencies with questions should contact FNS Regional Office representatives.”
He chastised the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order it issued last week requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund SNAP benefit programs before their funding expires Nov. 1; This meant that payments were stopped for the first time in the 60-year history of the programme.
The judge also said Trump officials failed to resolve a known fund distribution problem that could have caused SNAP payments to be delayed for weeks or months in some states. He ordered USDA to tap other emergency funds as needed.
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The USDA said Friday it is working to comply with the judge’s order to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program during the government shutdown. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
“SNAP recipients are likely to be hungry as we sit here,” McConnell said Thursday.
Trump administration officials said in a court filing earlier this week that they would pay only 65% of the nearly $9 billion owed to fund the SNAP program for November, prompting the judge to update his decision and give the administration just 24 hours to comply.
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“The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food stores will be overfilled, and there will be unnecessary suffering,” McConnell said. “That’s what irreparable harm means here.”
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
