The U.S. Supreme Court has extended an emergency stay on a lower court order compelling the Trump administration to resume full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November, providing temporary relief to millions of low-income Americans. The stay, which was initially issued by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, remains in, until November 13, preventing the administration from fully restoring benefits until the shutdown is resolved.
This legal action comes after the Trump administration contested the lower court’s decision to order immediate full SNAP payments, arguing that courts should not interfere with executive decisions on resource allocation during the government shutdown. States, however, had sought to keep benefits in place, citing the severe impact on vulnerable populations.
States had filed lawsuits last month, arguing that suspending SNAP benefits would disproportionately harm tens of millions of low-income residents, many of whom rely on the program for basic food assistance. In response to the lawsuit, the Department of Justice (DOJ) accused a federal judge of overstepping their authority by interfering with the executive branch’s responsibility to allocate resources during the shutdown.