The Supreme Court late Friday night temporarily blocked an order forcing the government to backfill the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, but the government argued the measure would require “school meal levies” to keep families fed.
The ruling, handed down on behalf of the court by Associate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, temporarily put on hold a district court order forcing the Trump administration to pay $4 billion in food stamps (officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) as the government shutdown continues.
The hold is set to expire 48 hours after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals rules on whether millions of Americans who rely on food aid will be forced to pay or allow food aid to lapse.
The legal drama began late Thursday, when a U.S. district judge ordered the federal government to pay $4 billion by 5 p.m. Friday.
The administration responded with a ferocious appeal, first in the First Circuit around breakfast time Friday and again in the Supreme Court during dinner.
“There is no legal basis for an order directing the Department of Agriculture to somehow find $4 billion from the metaphorical couch cushion,” said Atty. Gen. Brett A. Shumate wrote for the First Circuit:
The administration’s only option would be to cut the school lunch program and “starve Peter to feed Paul,” Shumate wrote.
On Friday afternoon, the appellate court declined to immediately block the lower court’s order and said it would rule immediately on the merits of the funding order.
The administration immediately appealed to the Supreme Court, asking the judge to block the move by 9:30 p.m. ET.
“The district court’s decision is untenable in any respect,” lawyer Gen. John Sauer wrote in the petition, saying the decision would “metastasize” into “further shutdown chaos.”
SNAP benefits are a key battle in the ongoing government shutdown. California is one of several states suing the administration to reinstate safety-net programs to break the impasse in negotiations.
Millions of Americans have struggled to buy groceries since benefits expired on Nov. 1, and many Republicans are joining Democrats in calling for emergency relief.
The Trump administration was previously ordered to release emergency funds for the program, which would cover about half of November’s benefits.
But briefs submitted by 25 states and the District of Columbia say the process is “confused and chaotic” and “replete with errors.”
Some states, including California, have begun distributing SNAP benefits this month. Some say partial funding is a functional lockout.
“Many states’ existing systems would require complete reprogramming to accomplish this task, and given the sudden and sudden nature of the change in USDA guidance, it would be impossible to complete that task quickly,” the brief states.
“The recalculations required by the (government) plan will delay November benefits for (state) residents by weeks or months.”
In response, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island ordered the full amount of food stamps to be paid by the end of the week. He accused the administration of withholding benefits for political gain.
“When faced with the choice of moving forward with relief or continuing to delay it,[the administration]chose the latter, which predictably caused more damage and undermined the very purpose of the government’s program,” he wrote.
“This court is not naive to the administration’s true motives,” McConnell wrote. “Far from being concerned about child nutrition funding, these statements reveal that the administration is withholding full SNAP benefits for political purposes.”
The Supreme Court has now extended that deadline until at least the end of the week. If the First Circuit or Supreme Court issues a more complete decision, the decision could be completely vacated.
The First Circuit is currently the most liberal in the country, with five active judges, all appointed to the court by Democratic presidents. However, the Supreme Court has an overwhelmingly conservative majority and always sides with the government in rulings on emergency cases.
While the First Circuit deliberates, both sides continue to spar over how many children will go hungry if one side wins.
More than 16 million children rely on SNAP benefits. Nearly 30 million people are fed through the National School Meals Programme, but the government now says it will have to act desperately to comply with the court order.
But the same money is already being used to expand Women, Infants and Children, a federal program that pays for infant formula and other basic necessities to some poor families.
“This clearly undermines defendant’s case because WIC is a completely separate program from the Child Nutrition Program,” McConnell wrote.
The 1st Circuit said in an order Friday that it will issue a full judgment “as soon as possible.”
Judge Jackson said in his order that it was expected “on dispatch.”
