Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Temporary Block
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has issued a temporary pause on a lower court ruling that mandated full funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown. This decision affects approximately 42 million low-income Americans who depend on this vital food assistance.
The Trump administration has instructed states to stop full food assistance payments, citing that without congressional appropriations, SNAP cannot legally provide complete benefits. The program’s funding expired on November 1, marking the 40th day of the government shutdown.
In light of Justice Jackson’s ruling, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a memo directing states to issue only about 65% of typical SNAP benefits for November. States were warned that any attempt to distribute full benefits would be deemed unauthorized and could lead to cancellation of federal funding for administrative costs.
Some states had already begun distributing full benefits prior to Justice Jackson’s intervention. For instance, Wisconsin provided support to 700,000 residents while New York assisted 2.9 million recipients. However, several Democratic governors are pushing back against federal directives; Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has publicly stated his refusal to comply with these orders.
The White House defended its stance through economic adviser Kevin Hassett, who emphasized careful legal considerations in distributing funds. Meanwhile, Democrats have criticized the administration’s actions as harmful to families reliant on food assistance, with Representative Angie Craig accusing it of taking away essential resources.
A U.S. District Judge had previously ruled that contingency funds could cover partial benefits but later ordered using school lunch program funds for full payments—this prompted an emergency appeal from the Justice Department. In Congress, efforts to resolve the shutdown faced obstacles as Democrats blocked legislation aimed at compensating furloughed workers while seeking assurances against fund transfers.
