Updated Nov 11, 2025 - Economy

Supreme Court extends SNAP payments freeze as lawmakers near shutdown vote

Rebecca Falconer

A volunteer displays information on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) at a grocery store in Dorchester, Massachusetts, as a shopper pushes a grocery trolly. The heads of both cannot be seen. — A volunteer displays information on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at a grocery store in Dorchester, Massachusetts, earlier this month. Photo: Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended an order allowing the Trump administration to temporarily block full payments of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP during the record shutdown.

Why it matters: The decision that continues the freeze of a lower court order for the administration to pay some 42 million Americans who rely on the program until 11:59p.m. Thursday comes as House members prepare to vote as early as Wednesday on a Senate-passed bill to reopen the government.

Zoom in: Tuesday's brief order noted that Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson "would deny the request for extension of the administrative stay and would deny the application" by the Trump administration.

Zoom out: The Trump administration's October move to withhold SNAP funding triggered several lawsuits in a legal battle that has left many recipients in limbo.

The Department of Agriculture ordered states after last week's Supreme Court ruling to "immediately undo" any steps taken to issue full food assistance benefits, but a federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked enforcement of this.
Some states had already moved to distribute benefits, while others had held off.

Go deeper: Trump says "we can reform" SNAP

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.

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Supreme Court extends SNAP payments freeze as lawmakers near shutdown vote

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