Appeals court rejects Trump request to not pay full SNAP benefits

Nov. 10 (UPI) -- A Boston federal appeals court late Sunday rejected the Trump administration's request to avoid paying full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the federal government shutdown.

The lower court judge's order to pay is still paused because of an order Friday by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to stay the appeals court's ruling. The stay is in effect until 48 hours after the Sunday night appeals ruling. This allows the Trump administration time to apply to the Supreme Court for a permanent stay.

The government has been shut down since Oct. 1. It's the longest shutdown in American history.

The ruling comes one day after the U.S. Department of Agriculture threatened states that have already issued full benefits, including to the Women, Infants and Children program. The memo said that states will lose federal funding if they don't "immediately undo any steps taken" to distribute funds.

Related

• Senate advances resolution to end government shutdown
• USDA orders halt to SNAP benefits for 42 million people
• Supreme Court justice freezes order on full SNAP payments

U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island issued a ruling on Oct. 31 blocking the Trump administration from not funding SNAP benefits that provide food support for 42 million Americans.

The administration appealed that ruling, but the appeals court agreed with McConnell. Then came the appeal to the Supreme Court for an emergency stay until the appeals court could revisit the order.

"As the district court found, 'this is a problem that could have been avoided,'" wrote Circuit Court Judge Julie Rikelman in the panel's decision Sunday.

"The record here shows that the government sat on its hands for nearly a month, unprepared to make partial payments, while people who rely on SNAP received no benefits a week into November and counting," Rikelman wrote.

"In light of these unique facts, we cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in requiring full payment of November SNAP benefits to effectuate the Oct. 31 [temporary restraining order] after the government had failed to comply with it."

During every past government shutdown, SNAP benefits have been paid in full with the contingency fund. But on Oct. 24, the administration said it would not pay any government benefits until the shutdown was over.

While the contingency funds for SNAP were not enough to cover the full amount of SNAP benefits, McConnell told the administration to find a way to tap other funding sources. When the government said that partial benefits would cause delays, McConnell. ordered full payments by last Friday.

"That unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers," said the Department of Justice in court filings.