SNAP aid for 42 million Americans tied up in court fight
Shutdown leaves food security uncertain as legal battle drags on
11 November 2025
3 minute read
By: The availability of food aid for 42 million low-income Americans remained in question on Monday as legal wrangling over the benefits continued even as lawmakers took steps toward ending the record-long government shutdown, reported Reuters.
In the latest twist, the administration of President Donald Trump indicated to the US Supreme Court on Monday it would continue to fight an order requiring it to fully fund food benefits known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The administration has blamed Congress for the crisis and said it was up to lawmakers to solve it.
A letter from the administration to the Supreme Court on Monday came hours after a federal appeals court in Boston rejected a bid by the Trump administration to halt a decision on Thursday by a Rhode Island judge requiring the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to spend $4 billion to fully fund SNAP benefits, often referred to as food stamps.
The status of the program's funding for November has been thrown into confusion by a series of legal victories and setbacks for nonprofits and Democratic-led states and cities fighting to restore food aid.
As the legal battles played out, the Senate was moving forward on a measure to end the shutdown, although any deal would need approval of the House and the president and could take days.
Strained food pantries, donations
SNAP recipients have turned to already strained food pantries and made sacrifices like forgoing medications to stretch tight budgets. Community organizations, churches and schools across the country have been ramping up appeals for food donations.
SNAP provides a monthly benefit to eligible Americans whose income is less than 130% of the federal poverty line. The maximum monthly benefit for the current fiscal year is $298 for a one-person household and $546 for a two-person household.
Thursday's court order from US District Judge John McConnell directing the administration to fully fund SNAP benefits set off a chaotic chain of events.
The USDA told states on Friday it was working to comply with McConnell's order and fully fund benefits.
However, also on Friday US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put a temporary hold on McConnell's order and that hold remains in place.
On Saturday, the USDA told states they had to "undo" efforts to pay full monthly benefits, or face potential penalties.
Some states were already working before McConnell's order to use state funds to issue full November benefits. Others had moved on Friday to issue full benefits but paused after the Supreme Court order.
For example, North Carolina, which issued partial benefits on Friday morning, was prepared to issue the remainder over the weekend, but stopped after the USDA directive, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Legal battle goes on
On Monday, a federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the USDA from carrying out its directive that states undo benefits. The judge, Indira Talwani, scheduled a hearing for later on Monday.
The administration has argued that judges cannot force it to find money in the "metaphorical couch cushions" to pay for full SNAP benefits while the shutdown continues.
The White House and USDA did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the evidence showed the administration sat on its hands and did not address the looming crisis as the shutdown lingered.
“We do not take lightly the government’s concern that money used to fund November SNAP payments will be unavailable for other important nutrition assistance programs,” US Circuit Judge Julie Rikelman wrote for the three-judge panel.
But Rikelman, who like the other judges was appointed by a Democratic president, wrote that a ruling for the administration would have led to "widespread harm" by "leaving tens of millions of Americans without food as winter approaches."
