US Supreme Court allows Trump administration to limit $4 billion in food aid for now amid government shutdown

The United States Supreme Court permitted President Donald Trump’s administration for now to limit approximately $4 billion required to fully fund a food aid program for 42 million low-income Americans this month, amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, according to Reuters.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the administrative stay on Friday night to give a federal appeals court more time to review the administration’s formal request to partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), also known as food stamps, for November. The administration had faced a court-imposed deadline on Friday to fully fund the programme.

The temporary hold on the court order, which will remain in effect until two days after the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the administration’s request to delay paying the full amount for this month’s SNAP programme, which costs about $8.5 billion to $9 billion.

The order by US District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, came after the administration announced it would provide $4.65 billion in emergency funds to partially cover November SNAP benefits. In a filing to the Supreme Court, Justice Department attorneys warned that allowing Judge McConnell’s ruling to stand would create “further shutdown chaos” and trigger “a run on the bank by way of judicial fiat".

Last week, McConnell directed the USDA to use emergency SNAP funds to partially cover this month’s costs. Then, in Thursday’s ruling, he ordered the department to use money from another programme—funded by $23.35 billion in tariff revenue and intended to support child nutrition—to make up the remaining shortfall.

McConnell, appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, accused the Republican Trump administration of deliberately withholding SNAP payments for “political reasons.”

What did Justice Jackson's ruling say?

Justice Jackson's ruling stated, “IT IS ORDERED that the District Court's orders are hereby administratively stayed pending disposition of the motion for a stay pending appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in case No. 25-2089 or further order of the undersigned or of the Court. This administrative stay will terminate forty-eight hours after the First Circuit's resolution of the pending motion, which the First Circuit is expected to issue.”

According to Bloomberg, Diane Yentel, president and chief executive officer of the National Council of Nonprofits, one of the plaintiffs, mentioned in a statement, “The administration’s callous use of hunger as a political tool is reprehensible and must end. Efforts by the administration to delay or reduce SNAP benefits harms both the American people and nonprofit community food banks doing all they can to serve their neighbors in need.”

SNAP Benefits

SNAP benefits stopped at the beginning of the month, the first lapse in the program’s 60-year history. Recipients have had to rely on already overburdened food pantries and make tough choices, such as skipping medications, to manage their limited finances. It provides monthly assistance to eligible Americans earning less than 130% of the federal poverty level. For fiscal year 2026, the maximum monthly payment is $298 for one person and $546 for a two-person household.