42 million people face food aid delays after the nation’s highest court authorized the U.S. president to suspend all SNAP payments.
Published November 8, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to temporarily withhold nearly $4 billion in federal food aid for November, leaving 42 million low-income Americans in need wondering whether they will receive it amid the longest government shutdown in history.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an administrative stay Friday, giving lower courts time to evaluate the administration’s request to only partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps.
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The SNAP program helps Americans with incomes below 130% of the federal poverty line. For fiscal year 2026, monthly benefits will be capped at $298 for individuals and $546 for two-person households.
The Supreme Court’s order suspends a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island that required the government to immediately release all funding.
The stay will last until two days after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rules on whether to block the lower court’s decision. SNAP typically costs between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.
Earlier this week, District Judge John McConnell, appointed by former President Barack Obama, accused the Trump administration of withholding SNAP funds for “political reasons.” His ruling ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use funds from a separate, tariff-funded Child Nutrition Fund worth more than $23 billion to make up for food aid shortfalls.
“Worst judicial activity”
The administration had planned to provide $4.65 billion in emergency funding, half of what would be needed for full benefits. The Justice Department’s filing argued that McConnell’s ruling would “sow further shutdown chaos” and encourage a “judicial misconduct mount.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called McConnell’s order “the worst judicial move” and praised the Supreme Court’s intervention.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday refused to immediately halt McConnell’s ruling before the Supreme Court’s injunction was announced. The USDA has already notified state governments that it is preparing to distribute SNAP benefits in full, and the administration’s appeal has caused confusion among officials and recipients.
SNAP benefits expired in early November for the first time in the program’s 60-year history. Since then, many recipients have turned to food reserves or cut back on necessities such as medicine to make ends meet.
The next hearing in the First Circuit is expected soon, but millions of families are waiting to see if full benefits will be reinstated.
