U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled in favor of the government, temporarily blocking a court order forcing the Trump administration to pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by Friday of this week.
“The district court’s order is hereby ordered to be administratively stayed pending resolution of the motion for stay pending appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in case number 25-2089 or until a new order is issued by the undersigned courts or this court,” the judge’s decision states.
In this context, Mr. Jackson asked the Court of Appeals, which had tentatively dismissed the government’s appeal to avoid SNAP payments, to issue a final order regarding the suspension. Until then, President Donald Trump’s executive branch’s mandate to allocate all the money needed to finance aid programs would be null and void.
For now, a judge has ruled that the government must pay the full cost of the SNAP program by this Friday, which means transferring about $4 billion (about 3.5 billion euros) in one day. Faced with this situation, the White House appealed first to the Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court, seeking an injunction.
“Given the First Circuit’s statements, an administrative stay is necessary to facilitate expeditious resolution of the First Circuit’s pending stay motion,” the judge held.
The measure will end within 48 hours of the Court of Appeal’s verdict, which, in the words of a Supreme Court judge, “is expected to be issued promptly.”
The government shutdown, which has been ongoing since October 1 after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement, has affected millions of people as food aid funding begins to run out.
“A single district court in Rhode Island should not be allowed to play a central role in a government shutdown and attempt to derail political negotiations that could provide a quick political solution to SNAP and other programs,” U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi argued in announcing the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, North American presidents have announced their intention to maintain aid programs, even if they use non-governmental funds. “It’s an honor to be able to provide funding, as well as payments to the military and law enforcement,” he said.
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