Overview
- A late-night USDA memo told states to stop sending full November SNAP files and to reverse any steps already taken, calling such issuances unauthorized.
- States were instructed to proceed with partial payments of roughly 65% of normal benefits, with warnings of canceled federal cost-sharing and liability for overissuances if they do not comply.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted an administrative stay that pauses a Rhode Island judge’s order to fully fund SNAP while the First Circuit considers the appeal.
- Several states had begun or announced plans to issue full benefits on Friday, including New York, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Kansas and Pennsylvania, creating operational whiplash as some payments already reached EBT cards.
- About 42 million people remain in limbo after benefits lapsed on November 1 during the shutdown, with food banks reporting surging demand and further court rulings expected on the potential use of Section 32 funds.