Supreme Court Says Trump May Withhold SNAP Money During Shutdown

The Supreme Court handed President Trump a victory Friday when it blocked a lower court’s demand for full food stamp payments to 42 million Americans during the government shutdown.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted an administrative stay that freezes a Rhode Island federal judge’s order requiring complete November SNAP benefits, the New York Post reported. The stay continues until the First US Circuit Court of Appeals decides the administration’s appeal, plus two days.

The dispute centers on roughly $4 billion in additional funding needed for November’s food assistance. The Trump administration had released $4.65 billion in emergency funds but refused to cover the program’s total $8.5 to $9 billion monthly cost, according to the outlet.

Federal Judge John McConnell, an Obama appointee, ordered Thursday that the government tap a $23.35 billion child-nutrition fund to pay full benefits. He accused officials of withholding assistance for “political reasons.” (RELATED: Trump States SNAP Will Only Be Funded Once Democrats Help End Shutdown)

🚨 BREAKING: Supreme Court rules IN FAVOR of President Trump not being forced to spend money the government doesn’t have for SNAP during the shutdown, for now.

Absurd this is a question.

You can’t come up with money out of nothing. pic.twitter.com/pG8Lz31bJZ

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 8, 2025

Solicitor General D. John Sauer fired back in Supreme Court filings, calling the order “a mockery of the separation of powers.” The Justice Department warned that McConnell’s ruling would “sow further shutdown chaos” by forcing spending without congressional approval.

States scrambled Friday after the USDA confirmed funds existed for full payments. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon, Hawaii and Pennsylvania issued complete benefits immediately. Colorado, North Carolina and Illinois planned weekend distributions. Delaware used state money for emergency aid.

Sauer complained to justices that states rushed to “seize what they could of the agency’s finite set of remaining funds” before appeals concluded.

SNAP benefits range from $298 monthly for single recipients to $546 for two-person households. The program serves approximately one in eight Americans.