Supreme Court Extends Temporary Block on Full SNAP Payments Amid Government Shutdown

"...The fast-moving emergency appeal at the Supreme Court over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits that help more than 40 million Americans – as well as several lawsuits playing out in lower courts – would almost certainly be dismissed as moot if the historic shutdown ends in coming days...."

"...Along with canceled flights, the spiraling legal battle over food stamps became a defining and tangible impact of the shutdown...."

"...The groups challenging the administration told the Supreme Court in a brief earlier Tuesday that SNAP beneficiaries had "now gone ten days without the help they need to afford food" and that millions of Americans, including children, were going hungry...."

"...Households receive around $350, on average, each month to help them buy food, though for many families, the assistance is spent quickly...."

"...The food stamp program has been in legal limbo since last month, when officials said recipients would not receive their payments for November due to the lapse in government funding...."

"...The decision prompted two lawsuits, with two federal judges ruling that the agency must at least tap into contingency funds to provide partial benefits for this month or, at its discretion, use other revenue to fully fund November’s allotments...."

"...The USDA opted to fund partial benefits, but warned it could take weeks or months for some states to recalculate the allotments and distribute the assistance...."

"...The nonprofit groups challenging President Donald Trump raced back to US District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island last week to argue that the court should require the USDA to fully fund the benefits to get the money out the door quickly...."

"...McConnell obliged. He ruled the administration had not worked fast enough to ensure at least partial benefits reached millions of the program’s recipients and that it had acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" when it decided against providing the full benefits this month...."

"...The administration quickly appealed to the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals and then the Supreme Court...."

"...Jackson, who handles emergency appeals from the 1st Circuit, issued what’s known as an "administrative stay" on Friday, effectively putting McConnell’s order on hold for a few days so lower courts could review the case...."

"...Jackson’s emergency order was set to expire a few minutes before midnight on Tuesday...."

"...The justice did not explain her decision to dissent from the court’s extension...."