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Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily halted an order requiring the Trump medication marque afloat Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) November payments by Friday.
Jackson’s order pauses immoderate of the payments until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit tin determine the administration’s question to artifact the bid pending its appeal.
It does not bespeak a ruling connected the underlying ineligible merits of the case, but it provides a impermanent reprieve to the Trump administration, which went to the Supreme Court earlier Friday evening.
“Given the First Circuit’s representations, an administrative enactment is required to facilitate the First Circuit’s expeditious solution of the pending enactment motion,” Jackson wrote.
Jackson ruled connected the contiguous petition due to the fact that she handles exigency appeals arising from the First Circuit by default.
"Our attorneys volition not halt fighting, time and night, to support and beforehand President Trump’s agenda," Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote connected the societal level X.
SNAP provides astir 42 cardinal radical with market assistance, and the program’s backing lapse has go 1 of the most disposable signs of the authorities shutdown arsenic it stretches into a sixth week.
Cities and backstage groups sued the medication arsenic the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the payment would beryllium chopped disconnected starting successful November, the archetypal clip the programme has dried up completely.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell initially ruled the medication needed to, astatine minimum, deplete a $5 cardinal SNAP contingency fund, rejecting arguments that it was lone intended for hurricanes and different unforeseen emergencies.
But it is not capable to screen the afloat November benefits, and McConnell said partial payments would lone beryllium lawful if they could beryllium provided expeditiously. States and the Trump medication person acknowledged the recalculations would apt spark weekslong delays.
So connected Thursday, McConnell ruled the administration needed to determination astir $4 cardinal from kid nutrition programs to money the remaining spread for the November payments, sparking the administration’s last-minute entreaty up of Friday’s deadline.
“If allowed to stand, this determination volition metastasize and sow further shutdown chaos,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote of the little ruling.
A three-judge sheet connected the 1st Circuit declined to instantly intervene earlier Friday evening.
By the clip the medication reached the Supreme Court, the USDA had already sent a missive to determination SNAP directors indicating it was moving to comply and process the payments.
Updated astatine 9:48 p.m. EST
