SNAP payment decision gets quick review from Supreme Court
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People line up in their cars during a free food distribution for recipients of SNAP in Daytona Beach, Fla, on Nov. 9. Photo: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gave the Trump administration a 4pm ET Monday deadline to respond to an appeals court decision requiring that SNAP payments be issued in full.
The big picture: The 1st U.S Circuit Court of Appeals allowed an order requiring full SNAP benefits just a day after the Trump administration ordered states to "immediately undo" payments that had been processed.
- A Rhode Island district court judge first ordered the Trump administration to make the payments, and then Jackson temporarily paused that order to allow the appeals court to decide on the administration's request to halt the order.
- Jackson's Monday order sets a quick schedule to move the case forward. The administration has until 11am ET to decide whether it will ask the Supreme Court to halt the payment order.
- If so, the Justice Department must file its briefs by 4pm ET, and the plaintiffs responding by 8am ET Tuesday.
- The White House deferred requests for comment to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not immediately respond to Axios.
The latest: The government on Monday confirmed it would still pursue a stay in a letter signed by Solicitor General John Sauer and said it would file a brief by the afternoon deadline.
- It noted that if a measure to end the shutdown was signed into law, it would "moot this application."
What they're saying: The appeals court ordered the payments due to the "immediate, predictable, and unchallenged harms facing forty-two million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits -- including fourteen million children -- weigh heavily against a stay."
- It also pointed to the district court's finding that this crisis was avoidable, saying the "government sat on its hands for nearly a month, unprepared to make partial payments."
Zoom out: A judge in a separate SNAP case brought by several states granted a request for a temporary restraining order halting USDA's memo ordering states to reverse efforts to pay out full benefits.
- In the Saturday memo to state and regional leaders, USDA threatened action against states that had already begun the process of sending full SNAP payment files.
- That sparked an uproar among state leaders who accused the administration of trying to yank aid away from those who rely on the federal lifeline.
Worth noting: While the Senate on Sunday voted to move forward on a package to reopen the government, the process could still take days. Meanwhile, the legal confusion over food assistance persists.
Go deeper: The food crisis is here
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional information.
