The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Trump administration to decide whether it still wants to pursue an appeal that would block payment of some food stamp benefits while the government shutdown continues, after a lower court rejected President Trump’s arguments.
The order came hours after senators struck a deal that could end the longest-ever government shutdown.
The justices gave the administration until 11 a.m. Monday to inform the high court of its plans.
Food stamp benefits have been under a cloud since the start of the month, when the administration said it didn’t believe it could pay the benefits amid the shutdown. Without new money from Congress, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, ceased to exist, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
States, local governments and advocacy groups went to court to demand payments, saying the federal government had the power to move other money around to fund food stamps.
A federal judge in Rhode Island agreed and first ordered partial payments using a contingency fund, and then ordered full payments by taking money out of the Child Nutrition Program, which funds the school lunch program.
Trump administration lawyers rushed to higher courts to put the full payments on hold.
Late Sunday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the administration, refusing to block the district court’s order.
The three-judge panel said the government failed to comply with the initial partial-payment order, justifying the judge’s follow-up order for full payments.
U.S. District Judge Julie Rikelman said the consequences of halting payments were too large to let the government delay them while the case plays out.
“Without SNAP, tens of millions would go hungry — the first among a cascade of other health and financial harms that would befall those forced to go without enough food, particularly in the months leading up to winter,” wrote Judge Rikelman, a Biden appointee.
Before the 1st Circuit ruled, however, the Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to step in. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson then issued an order giving the administration a reprieve of up to 48 hours after the circuit court did rule.
That clock is now ticking as the justices asked for more briefs Monday.
