Supreme Court keeps SNAP benefits on ice as shutdown nears end  

WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court extended a pause on full funding of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits for November on Tuesday night ahead of a pending vote to reopen the government.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s administrative stay order would have lapsed Tuesday night if not for the high court’s intervention. In a brief order, the justices drew out the stay until Thursday evening, giving the House of Representatives time to vote on a spending bill on Wednesday. Jackson was the only justice to publicly dissent from the order.

Last week, President Donald Trump filed an eleventh hour emergency appeal, asking the justices to block a lower court ruling forcing the administration to find funds for SNAP. The food insecurity program supports around 42 million Americans — mostly children, seniors and people with disabilities.

Cities, charities, churches, nonprofits and unions filed a lawsuit to force the government to pay out benefits despite the ongoing shutdown. A federal judge directed officials to tap a multibillion-dollar contingency fund to cover any shortfalls, but Trump refused, claiming that only Congress could solve their problem.

The administration said it would provide only partial payments covering half of eligible households. U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island, a Barack Obama appointee, issued a sharp ruling last week accusing Trump of using the program for political leverage and ordered the Agriculture Department to transfer funds from the National School Lunch Program to ensure full payments.

Trump told the Supreme Court said that his administration would not “starve Peter to feed Paul, by gambling school lunches tomorrow in exchange for more SNAP money today.” The administration warned that if McConnell’s order was allowed to stand, it would “metastasize and sow further shutdown chaos” as other beneficiaries sought similar relief.

In a late-night order, Jackson, who presides over emergency applications from the First Circuit, granted a temporary administrative stay to give the appeals court time to rule before the justices intervened.

On Sunday night, the First Circuit rejected Trump’s request, but by that time, a deal to reopen the government appeared imminent.

The Trump administration told the Supreme Court that a funding agreement from Congress would moot their application.

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