The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to halt a lower court order that required the government to fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments during the ongoing government shutdown.
The unsigned order, issued by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, pauses the mandate of a federal judge in Rhode Island who earlier this week ordered the administration to deliver full November benefits, using emergency reserves to fill the gap. The justice’s action will remain in place until 48 hours after a federal appeals court rules on whether to impose a longer stay.
Jackson, who handles emergency applications from Massachusetts and other states in the region, acted after the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston declined to immediately intervene. Her order effectively reinstates the administration’s plan to issue partial SNAP payments while the broader funding dispute plays out in court.
