A Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) sign at a grocery store in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on Monday, November 3, 2025.
Mel Musto | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended until late Thursday night a suspension of a federal judge’s order ordering the Trump administration to pay out November’s full SNAP benefits.
The two-day delay, which was dissented by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, gives Congress time to reopen the U.S. government, which has been closed since October 1, and pass a short-term funding bill to fund the SNAP program, which provides food stamps to 42 million Americans.
The Trump administration argued in a filing with the Supreme Court on Monday that the complex legal dispute over the benefits could soon become an issue if Congress passes the bill this week.
If the bill is approved and SNAP benefits begin disbursing normally, it would eliminate the legitimacy of lawsuits seeking to continue receiving benefits during the shutdown.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to begin voting on the Senate-approved bill Wednesday afternoon, and President Donald Trump has indicated he intends to sign it.
U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell of Rhode Island last Thursday ordered the administration to pay the full amount of SNAP benefits, rejecting the administration’s plan to pay only 65% of the aid. The administration originally planned not to pay out the benefits in November, even though $4.6 billion was set aside from an emergency fund for that purpose.
Mr. McConnell directed federal officials to use not only emergency funds but also money from the Child Nutrition Program to pay the full amount of benefits that the government had denied.
A federal appeals court in Boston upheld Mr. McConnell’s order, but it was blocked by a short stay imposed by Judge Jackson. That stay was scheduled to expire Tuesday night.
In its order extending the stay for two days on Tuesday, the Supreme Court said the administration’s application for long-term stay of the order pending appeal has been referred to the en banc bench for consideration.
The court said the suspension will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday.
The court’s order Tuesday said Jackson “denies the request for an extension of administrative stay and denies the application.” There was no written dissent explaining Mr. Jackson’s dissent.
“This decision means millions of Americans will once again be left wondering how they will support their families,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sued the state in a separate lawsuit seeking full payment of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, said in a statement.
“We hope this suffering will end soon as the government reopens and SNAP is fully funded again. In the meantime, New Yorkers who received their November SNAP benefits should not be afraid to use them.”
