(LOOTPRESS) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday extended a temporary block on a federal judge’s order that would have required the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in November, as the government shutdown continues.
The order keeps the administration from distributing about $4 billion in additional SNAP funding that had been mandated by U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island. The freeze remains in effect until midnight on Thursday.
If Congress approves a bipartisan bill to reopen the government in the coming days, the case could become moot. The legislation would fund the SNAP program through September of next year.
The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the Senate-passed measure to end what has become the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Nearly 42 million Americans use SNAP, commonly known as food stamps.
In a recent court filing, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued, “The only way to end this crisis — which the Executive is adamant to end — is for Congress to reopen the government.”
The Supreme Court’s brief order noted that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the government’s request to continue the freeze.
The administration has said it has access to only $5 billion from a contingency fund to cover a portion of November SNAP payments during the shutdown. The program generally costs about $9 billion per month.
Judge McConnell’s ruling would have required the remaining $4 billion to come from Section 32, a fund typically used to support child nutrition programs.
By maintaining the block, the Supreme Court’s decision means that SNAP will remain funded at roughly 65% of its usual level unless the shutdown ends.
The lawsuit challenging the administration’s SNAP funding plan was brought by a coalition of cities, churches and nonprofit organizations that help provide food assistance.
