Overview
- The Supreme Court extended an administrative stay through late Thursday on orders requiring full November SNAP funding, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noting she would have denied the request.
- The extension allows the administration to withhold about $4 billion, keeping November benefits at roughly 65% of typical levels for the program’s 42 million participants.
- A Senate-passed bill to reopen the government could fully restore SNAP funding if the House approves it and the president signs it, likely rendering the court fight moot.
- USDA instructed states to reverse steps toward full payments and warned of penalties, while several states that issued benefits during a brief court window are resisting clawbacks and a judge has blocked enforcement of the directive.
- Payment status remains uneven across states, with some recipients having full deposits, others partial or none, and food banks reporting surging demand as EBT processing changes cause delays.