Supreme Court Ruling on SNAP Benefits Leaves Families in Limbo

Politics|Families in Limbo After Supreme Court Order Interrupts Food Stamp Payments

Millions of low-income families began Saturday with little clarity over the fate of their food stamp benefits, after a late-night Supreme Court order allowed the Trump administration to continue withholding some funding for the nation’s largest anti-hunger program.

Only one day earlier, states including Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Oregon had started sending full benefits to the roughly one in eight Americans who receive aid each month, putting an end to weeks of delay that had threatened many of the poorest Americans with severe financial hardship.

But the process appeared to grind to halt starting Friday night. The Supreme Court granted an emergency request by the Trump administration to pause an order issued by a federal judge, who had required the White House to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

The late-night order was the latest turn in a weekslong battle waged by states and nonprofits seeking to ensure that the poorest Americans do not lose their ability to buy food during the federal shutdown. Throughout the closure, now the longest in history, the White House has refused to tap an ample store of leftover money that would prevent severe interruptions to the nutrition program.

While the Supreme Court order was only temporary, it appeared to freeze in place some of the work to restart food stamps, particularly in states that had not yet made full payments to all of their residents. Practically, that meant some of the families that had already gone days without aid might have to endure an even longer wait.

In Ohio, state leaders initially told local families on SNAP that they could receive full food stamps by next week, only to have to announce that benefits had been “delayed” shortly after the Supreme Court order.

Officials in Massachusetts were able to disburse full food stamps to residents who were owed a payment by Friday. But it remained uncertain when benefits would reach low-income families who are scheduled to receive aid next week.

“President Trump needs to stop trying to force Americans to go hungry and pay full SNAP benefits for everyone,” said Gov. Maura T. Healey, a Democrat, who said Massachusetts was assessing the implications of the court’s actions.

Many states had published no updated information at all about what would happen with their programs now. In Texas, officials said they were following the latest guidance from the Agriculture Department, though they did not explain what that entailed. In Louisiana, the state’s health department said Friday it was delivering only partial benefits, as it awaited clearer federal instructions.

Spokespeople in both states did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Agriculture Department also did not immediately respond to a request.

By its own admission, the Trump administration can access tens of billions in leftover funds to finance full SNAP benefits in November. But Mr. Trump has declined to use the money, and his aides have claimed they cannot help, despite the fact that they have reworked other parts of the federal budget to sustain their priorities during the shutdown — including to pay officers conducting mass deportations.

The legal wrangling over SNAP began on Thursday, after a federal court in Rhode Island ordered the White House to tap two accounts at the Agriculture Department to fund SNAP benefits in full. Absent that order, the second issued by that judge, the government would have provided just partial benefits — with some families receiving nothing this month, and perhaps not for several more weeks.

The Justice Department immediately challenged that ruling, but the appeals court declined on Friday to block the judge’s order from taking immediate effect. The Trump administration then turned to the Supreme Court, where Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted a temporary pause, known as an administrative stay.

The justice, who handles emergency applications from courts in that part of the country, essentially left it to the appeals court to decide what to do. That means the panel of judges must determine whether to halt or preserve the original order requiring the White House to fund SNAP benefits in full this month. A decision is expected quickly, perhaps as soon as Saturday.

But the result, in the meantime, was legal whiplash for the families who rely on the food stamp program, particularly after some states had announced they would begin funding benefits in full. Those also include California, Michigan, New Jersey and Wisconsin, where it remained unclear by Saturday how the Supreme Court decision might affect residents.