"The United States Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump's administration to temporarily withhold about $4bn in federal food aid for November, leaving 42 million low-income Americans in need uncertain about their benefits amid the nation's longest-ever government shutdown. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the administrative stay on Friday, giving a lower court more time to assess the administration's request to only partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps."
"SNAP typically costs between $8.5bn and $9bn each month. Earlier this week, District Judge John McConnell, appointed by former President Barack Obama, accused the Trump administration of withholding SNAP funds for political reasons. His ruling ordered the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use money from a separate child nutrition fund, worth more than $23bn and financed through tariffs, to cover the shortfall in food assistance."
"His ruling ordered the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use money from a separate child nutrition fund, worth more than $23bn and financed through tariffs, to cover the shortfall in food assistance. The administration had planned to provide $4.65bn in emergency funding, half the amount needed for full benefits. It argued that McConnell's ruling would sow further shutdown chaos and prompt a run on the bank by way of judicial fiat, according to filings by the Department of Justice."
The Supreme Court issued an administrative stay allowing the administration to temporarily withhold roughly $4bn in November SNAP payments, affecting about 42 million low-income Americans during the government shutdown. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson paused a lower-court order to give the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals time to consider whether to block that decision. SNAP supports households below 130% of the federal poverty line, with 2026 maximum monthly benefits of $298 for individuals and $546 for two-person households. A federal judge ordered use of a $23bn child nutrition fund to cover the shortfall; the administration proposed $4.65bn in emergency funding and warned the judge’s order would increase shutdown chaos.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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