BOSTON – The United States Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments as senators take the first tentative steps towards ending the government shutdown.
A judge had given the Republican administration until this upcoming Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the administration asked an appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund.
After the appeals court declined to immediately intervene, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an order last Friday pausing the requirement to distribute full SNAP payments until the appeals court rules on whether to issue a more lasting pause.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell reacted by saying: “The Trump Administration has the money to fully fund the SNAP program but is on a mission to withhold that funding so that they can continue to use the hunger of 42 million Americans as a bargaining chip. I am disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision to enable the federal government to withhold resources to feed millions of Americans… As our lawsuit proceeds, I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure our residents have access to food.”
The Massachusetts government website is keeping SNAP recipients updated on the recent changes to the program.
RELATED: Ruling made to keep funding SNAP past November 1st deadline
Material from The Associated Press was used for this story.
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
About Jim McCabe
