Follow-Up: Appeals Court Declines to Halt Full SNAP Funding Order, Leaving November Benefits for 42 Million in Limbo
GSM reported on November 1 that two federal judges had ordered the Department of Agriculture to use emergency funds to pay November food stamp (SNAP) benefits, affecting about 42 million people. The legal fight has since escalated: U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island on Thursday ordered the USDA to tap a $23.35 billion child nutrition fund to cover the roughly $4 billion needed for full payments, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday issued a temporary hold pausing that order.
The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sunday declined to halt McConnell's order. Circuit Judge Julie Rikelman, writing for a three-judge panel, said ruling for the administration would cause widespread harm by leaving tens of millions of Americans without food as winter approaches. But because Jackson's hold remains in place for 48 hours after the 1st Circuit's decision, Sunday's ruling has no immediate effect, and whether November benefits will be paid in full is still unresolved.
On Saturday, the USDA directed states to undo any steps they had taken to issue full benefits or risk financial penalties. SNAP costs about $8.5 billion to $9 billion a month, and the administration had planned to cover only about half with roughly $4.65 billion in contingency funds. Several states issued full payments after the court orders, including Wisconsin, which released more than $104 million to about 337,000 households. The Senate on Sunday moved forward on a measure aimed at reopening the federal government, which on Monday reached its 41st day of shutdown.
(Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国农业部总部会议室，屏幕上为农业部徽标。USDAgov 摄，Public domain，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A meeting room at U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters, with the USDA seal on screen. By USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-11-01Two Federal Judges Order USDA to Use Contingency Funds for November SNAP Benefits; Plan Due November 3, 42 Million People Affected
- 2026-11-02Follow-Up: Appeals Court Declines to Halt Full SNAP Funding Order, Leaving November Benefits for 42 Million in LimboThis story
