Supreme Court extends its order blocking full SNAP payments, with shutdown potentially near an end

"The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended an order blocking full SNAP payments, amid signals that the government shutdown could soon end and food aid payments resume. The order keeps in place at least for a few more days a chaotic situation. People who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to feed their families in some states have received their full monthly allocations, while others have received nothing. The order will expire just before midnight Thursday. The Senate has approved a bill to end the shutdown and the House of Representatives could vote on it as early as Wednesday. Reopening the government would restart the program that helps 42 million Americans buy groceries, but it's not clear how quickly full payments would resume."

"The justices chose what is effectively the path of least resistance, anticipating the federal government shutdown will end soon while avoiding any substantive legal ruling about whether lower court orders to keep full payments flowing during the shutdown are correct. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only one of the nine justices to say she would have revived the lower court orders immediately, but didn't otherwise explain her vote. Jackson signed the initial order temporarily freezing the payments."

"Beneficiaries in some states have received their full monthly allocations while in others they have received nothing. Some states have issued partial payments. How quickly SNAP benefits could reach recipients if the government reopens would vary by state. But states and advocates say that it's easier to make full payments quickly than partial ones. Carolyn Vega, a policy analyst at the advocacy group Share Our Strength, also said there could be some technical challenges for states that have issued partial benefits to send out the remaining amount."

The Supreme Court extended an order that blocks full SNAP payments, maintaining inconsistent benefit distribution across states until the order expires just before midnight Thursday. The Senate approved a bill to end the shutdown and the House could vote soon, which would restart the program serving 42 million Americans, though timing for full payment resumption remains unclear. The justices avoided a substantive legal ruling, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson alone preferring immediate revival of lower-court orders. Some states issued full allocations, others issued partial or no payments, and advocates warn of technical challenges to distributing remaining amounts.

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