The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s administrative stay of a lower court order that the Trump administration immediately complete payment of full SNAP benefits for November.
The decision — over the noted sole objection of Justice Jackson herself — preserves the status quo as Congress appears on the cusp of ending the record-long government shutdown and fully funding SNAP through the fiscal year.
The court did not explain its decision.
Justice Jackson indicated that she would have denied the Trump administration’s application and required it to immediately pay out full November SNAP benefits during the pendency of action on Capitol Hill.
Justice Jackson granted the stay on Friday after the government requested the order be paused until the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could rule on the matter. The appeals court subsequently denied the administration’s appeal on Sunday.
“Given the imminent, irreparable harms posed by these orders, which require the government to transfer an estimated $4 billion by tonight, the Solicitor General respectfully requests an immediate administrative stay of the orders pending the resolution of this application,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote Friday in arguing for the stay.
A placard inside a convenience store states “WE ACCEPT EBT” (Electronic Benefit Transfer), which will be halted tomorrow, weeks into the continuing U.S. government shutdown, in Thornton, Colorado, Oct. 31, 2025.
Mark Makela/Reuters
The move came as U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani on Monday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a memo directing states to “undo” the issuance of full SNAP benefits, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs SNAP, told states to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
The USDA initially told states on Friday that is was “working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances” following an order by U.S. District Judge McConnell that the Trump administration fully fund SNAP for the month of November.
The administration said it would partially fund SNAP with approximately $4.5 billion, but that it needed the remaining funds to support WIC programs that feed children.
Based on the USDA’s initial guidance, 20 states said they had begun the process of issuing full November benefits.
“What you have right now is confusion of the agency’s own making,” Judge Talwani said during a hearing Monday.
