Judge Orders Full November SNAP Payments, Then Supreme Court Pauses Order

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to pay full November food assistance benefits, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused that order on Friday night, leaving millions of recipients uncertain about when the money will arrive, according to CBS News and CNBC.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island, who is presiding over a lawsuit brought by cities and nonprofits against the Agriculture Department’s plan to halt November aid during the shutdown, first ordered the administration to use a contingency fund and then ordered full payments drawn from that fund and a child nutrition account, CBS reported. The administration said it had exhausted a contingency reserve of more than $5 billion and would need about $4 billion more, which would come from a Child Nutrition Programs fund, CBS reported.

The department initially said it would comply, telling states it would begin disbursing full benefits, CNBC and CBS reported. The Justice Department also asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for emergency relief, CBS reported, and then went to the Supreme Court.

The administration had earlier said it could pay up to 65 percent of regular allocations from the contingency fund, CNBC reported. The shutdown has left about 42 million people without regular November aid on schedule, CBS and CNBC reported.

The uncertainty has been compounded by the way benefits reach recipients: they are issued through the states, and CBS noted that the department had earlier warned that it could be weeks before partial assistance reached recipients.

The department has argued that it lacks the legal authority to spend beyond its contingency reserve. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said last week there aren’t “just pots of $9.2 billion sitting around,” PBS reported at the time. Opponents, including Judge McConnell, say the department has discretion to use the reserve.

Congress remained at an impasse over reopening the government. Recipients can still use any balances already on their cards, CBS reported earlier.