Supreme Court extends order limiting SNAP payments through November

The court's order is set to expire at Midnight on Thursday, as a potential deal to reopen government and fund SNAP draws closer.

Scripps News Group
Posted
and last updated

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to continue limiting SNAP benefits paid in November, extending a temporary stay that it had placed on payments last week.

The court's order is set to expire at Midnight on Thursday, as a potential deal to reopen government and fund SNAP draws closer. Congress is widely expected to finalize a bipartisan funding deal to reopen the government, which is now awaiting a House vote, later this week. As part of the deal, SNAP is expected to be fully funded through the fiscal year.

The Trump administration has signaled it will support that bipartisan deal.

"We have support from enough Democrats and we're going to be opening up our country," President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday afternoon. "I'll abide by the deal. The deal is very good."

Still, the more than month-long shutdown has put significant strain on the SNAP system and the millions of Americans who depend on it to pay for food. The Trump administration has told states like New Jersey and Hawaii that they are not going to be reimbursed for money already spent on SNAP and EBT cards while the legal fight plays out.

RELATED STORY | Trump admin tells states to 'immediately undo any steps taken' to provide full SNAP benefits

In the last weeks, SNAP funding became the critical focus of a back-and-forth legal fight during the shutdown. The administration initially said it could not use contingency funds to cover full November SNAP benefits. After several states and nonprofit groups sued, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the government to use all available funding to fully cover the benefits, rather than only a partial amount.

The administration appealed that ruling, eventually bringing the issue to the Supreme Court. On Friday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a temporary stay to allow the appeals process to play out. On Sunday, the appeals court declined to extend that stay, leaving the lower court’s order requiring full benefits in place.