The Trump administration on Friday appealed to the Supreme Court to block a ruling from a lower court that requires it to pay out November SNAP benefits in full.
The move is the latest in a back-and-forth case between the Trump administration and the courts, which escalated this week when a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the administration to restore full SNAP benefits, calling an earlier plan to distribute only partial payments “arbitrary and capricious.”
The administration quickly appealed, but is taking steps to comply while the case moves forward.
That appeals court on Friday declined to grant a fast administrative stay on distributing funds as requested by the Trump administration. It says it will continue to review the full stay pending appeal.
"We intend to issue a decision on that motion as quickly as possible," the court wrote.
The administration has now appealed its request for a stay to the Supreme Court on an emergency basis.
In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is moving to fully fund November SNAP benefits.
In a letter to state agencies, officials said they are completing the steps needed to make the funds available, and states will soon be able to send full benefit files to EBT processors, which load SNAP money onto benefit cards.
At least nine states have begun issuing full SNAP benefits for the month based on payments sent from USDA.
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SNAP funding lapsed due to the government shutdown, which has now stretched on for more than a month.
States and nonprofits sued to require the federal government to use contingency funds to make sure SNAP funds are paid out. The administration initially argued that contingency funds were not enough to cover all SNAP benefits. But the judge ruled the government must use all legally available reserve funds within USDA to ensure that full payments go out.
