Trump admin asks appeals court to pause judge’s requirement that it make full November SNAP payments

By Devan Cole, Tami Luhby, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration is asking a federal appeals court to pause a judge’s order that requires the government to fully cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November.

The emergency request made Friday morning to the First Circuit Court of Appeals comes a day after a federal judge in Rhode Island said the US Department of Agriculture must find additional money to make the payments, rejecting the administration’s decision to only partially fund the food benefits program this month.

The Justice Department, which represents the USDA in court, told the Boston-based appeals court that US District Judge John McConnell had overstepped his authority when he issued his order Thursday afternoon.

McConnell’s decision, DOJ attorneys wrote in court papers, “has thrust the Judiciary into the ongoing shutdown negotiations and may well have the effect of extending the lapse in appropriations, exacerbating the problem that the court was misguidedly trying to mitigate.”

“This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers. Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend,” they wrote. “There is no lawful basis for an order that directs USDA to somehow find $4 billion in the metaphorical couch cushions.”

Earlier this week, the USDA provided enough funding to states, which administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to cover partial benefits for November, after McConnell ordered the agency to do so last week. That order was also appealed to the First Circuit.

McConnell said on Thursday that the administration must provide the additional funding by the end of Friday. The administration is asking the appeals court to intervene by 4pm ET Friday.

States have been processing the partial food stamp payments on varying timelines, with several saying beneficiaries may start getting their assistance next week and others saying it could take much longer. Illinois said it will begin distributing the funds on Friday to those who were scheduled to get their benefits earlier in the month, while others will receive theirs on time.

Nearly 42 million Americans receive food stamps, with payments distributed on a staggered schedule throughout the month.

The appeals court asked the coalition of cities, nonprofits, unions and small businesses that brought the legal challenge to respond to the government’s request by noon Friday.

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