US supreme court extends Trump pause on $4bn in food aid benefits | Trump administration
Millions of Americans struggling with food insecurity will face more uncertainty this week after the US supreme court allowed the Trump administration to continue withholding funding for food stamps.
In an executive stay issued Tuesday, the highest court upheld the administration’s request to extend the pause on a federal judge’s order that would require $4 billion in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, food aid needed by 42 million people to be distributed. The freezing of funds was given for two more days and will continue until midnight on Thursday.
As the House plans to vote on Wednesday on a package that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the administration has moved to fully fund the essential food program, insisting that the funds will be provided only when Congress reaches a compromise.
“The only way to end this crisis, which the executive branch is determined to end, is for Congress to reopen the government,” Attorney General D John Sauer wrote in the Trump administration filing.
Program benefits are federally funded but administered by local and state governments. The funding cut, a first for the largest hunger-relief program in the United States, caused chaos in states that were left struggling after handing out benefits they believed were allowed before the high court’s decision.
The Agriculture Department on Sunday directed states to “immediately roll back” aid currently provided to low-income Americans. It remains unclear whether the funds currently provided by the states will be repaid by the federal government, whose coffers are already running dry.
“To the extent that states submitted their entire Snap payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” Patrick Penn, assistant secretary of agriculture, wrote to state Snap directors. “Accordingly, states should immediately reverse steps taken to ensure full Snap benefits through November 2025.”
With only half of November’s allocation distributed to beneficiaries, the pressure is on food banks and local organizations trying to keep up with the need. With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching and schools closing, these needs will rise sharply if funds are not restored soon.
“It’s hard to look into the face of someone who tells you they can’t feed their family and can divert them to other means to get food for their home,” Stacy Smith, a government worker, told the Guardian this week.
“We have community food banks and we have food pantries, and they are already at capacity.”
Michael Sainato and Anna Betts contributed reporting
