The US Supreme Court has extended an administrative stay, permitting the Trump administration to withhold November funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program until November 13. This action continues to block a lower court's ruling that had mandated the government to use contingency funds for the payments during the shutdown. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision to extend the stay.
The administration argued the stay was necessary to allow political negotiations on the government shutdown to proceed without judicial interference. Opponents of the stay countered that the delay in funding causes irreparable harm to individuals who depend on the program for food. The legal dispute may become irrelevant if the shutdown ends, as the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a Senate-passed bill that would fund the government and restore normal SNAP appropriations.
The administration argued the stay was necessary to allow political negotiations on the government shutdown to proceed without judicial interference. Opponents of the stay countered that the delay in funding causes irreparable harm to individuals who depend on the program for food. The legal dispute may become irrelevant if the shutdown ends, as the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a Senate-passed bill that would fund the government and restore normal SNAP appropriations.
