Supreme Court issues emergency order blocking entire SNAP food assistance payments

BOSTON — The Supreme Court on Friday granted an emergency appeal by the Trump administration to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food assistance payments amid the government shutdown, even though residents in some states have already received the money.

A judge had given the Republican administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the administration asked the appeals court to put on hold any injunctions requiring it to spend more money than is available in the emergency fund, and instead allow it to continue partial SNAP payments planned for this month.

After the Boston Court of Appeals declined to intervene immediately, Superior Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an order late Friday halting the entire requirement to distribute SNAP payments until the appeals court rules on whether to issue a longer temporary moratorium. Jackson handles emergency matters from Massachusetts.

Her order will remain in place until 48 hours after the appeals court ruling, giving the administration time to return to the Supreme Court if the appeals court refuses to intervene.

The food program serves about 1 in 8 Americans, most of whom are low-income.

Officials in more than a half-dozen states confirmed that some SNAP recipients had already received their full November payments on Friday. But Jackson’s order could prevent other states from starting payments.

States that have issued SNAP payments
In Wisconsin, more than $104 million in monthly food aid became available at midnight on electronic cards for about 337,000 families, said a spokesman for Democratic Governor Tony Evers. The state was able to access federal funds so quickly by submitting a request to the electronic benefits card vendor to process SNAP payments within hours of a court order Thursday to provide full benefits.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotick, a Democrat, said state workers “worked through the night” to issue the full November benefits “to make sure every Oregon family who relies on SNAP can buy groceries” by Friday.

Joseph Campos II, deputy director of the Hawaii Department of Human Services, told The Associated Press that the information for November’s monthly payments is ready to go, so she can quickly submit it for processing after Thursday’s court order — and before a higher court can temporarily stop it.

“We moved quickly once everything was verified,” Campos said.

The Trump administration told the Supreme Court that quick-acting states were “trying to seize what they can of the agency’s limited pool of remaining funds, before any appeals can be filed, and at the expense of other states’ allocations.”

The Attorney General, Dr. John Sawyer in the court filing: “Once those billions go out the door, there is no mechanism in place for the government to recover that money.”

Officials in California, Kansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington state also said they moved quickly to release full SNAP benefits on Friday, while other states said they expected full benefits to arrive over the weekend or early next week. Others said they are awaiting further federal guidance.

Houstonians line up in their cars for a special free food distribution by the Houston Food Bank at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on November 1, 2025. Nearly one in eight Americans receive food stamp benefits from the U.S. government. Photography by Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images

Many SNAP recipients face uncertainty
The court discussed long weeks of uncertainty for low-income Americans.

An individual can receive a maximum monthly food benefit of about US$300, and for a family of four up to about US$1,000, although many receive less than that under a formula that takes into account their income.

For some SNAP participants, it remained unclear when they would receive their benefits.

Jasmine Youngby of Newark, New Jersey, waited in line Friday at a food pantry in the state’s largest city. As a single mother attending college, Youngby said she relies on SNAP to help feed her 7-month-old and 4-year-old sons. But she said her account balance was at $0.

“Not everyone has money to pull out and say, ‘Okay, I’ll go get this,’ especially with the high cost of food right now,” she said.
Later Friday, Youngby said she received her monthly SNAP benefits.

The legal battle over SNAP is taking another turn
Because of the federal government shutdown, the Trump administration originally said SNAP benefits would not be available in November. However, two judges ruled last week that the administration cannot skip November benefits entirely because of the shutdown. One of those judges was U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who ordered the full payments on Thursday.

In both cases, the justices ordered the government to use an emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion for November’s SNAP payment, but gave it leeway to tap other funds to make the full payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.

The administration said Monday it would not use additional funds, saying it was up to Congress to allocate money for the program, and that other funds were needed to support other programs to combat child hunger.

A federal court order issued Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s decision to cover only 65% ​​of the maximum monthly benefit, a decision that could have left some recipients getting nothing for the month.

In its court filings on Friday, the Trump administration alleged that the judge usurped legislative and executive authority in ordering that SNAP benefits be fully funded.

“This unprecedented order makes a mockery of the separation of powers,” Sawyer told the Supreme Court.

Countries take a different approach to food aid
Some states have said they are willing to distribute SNAP funds as quickly as possible.

Colorado and Massachusetts said SNAP participants could get their full payments for November as soon as Saturday. New York said access to full SNAP benefits should begin by Sunday. New Hampshire said full benefits should be available by the end of this week. Arizona and Connecticut said full benefits should be available in the coming days.

Officials in North Carolina said they distributed partial SNAP payments on Friday and full benefits could be available by the end of this week. Officials in Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and North Dakota also said they had distributed partial payments for November.

Amid the federal uncertainty, Delaware Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer said the state used its own funds on Friday to provide the first of what could be a weekly relief payment to SNAP recipients.
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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Bauer of Madison, Wisconsin; and Catalini are from Newark, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Mark Sherman in Washington; Sarah Klein in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jack Dora in Bismarck, North Dakota; Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix; Susan Hay in Norwich, Connecticut; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Anthony Izaguirre in New York; Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu; Mingsun Lau in Claymont, Delaware; John O’Connor, in Springfield, Illinois; Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Colin Slevin in Denver; Tasani Vigbongsa in Philadelphia contributed to this report.