Jennifer Ludden

The Trump administration had asked the high court to block full food benefits after a lower court judge ordered them.

The extended stay means states can still make only partial payments.

The legal wrangling over the country's largest anti-hunger program has kept millions of people who rely on it in limbo.

That could change soon as Congress votes on a deal to end the shutdown, which includes SNAP funding until next fall.

Restoring that will be a relief not only to recipients, but also the retail stores where they spend their SNAP dollars, and food pantries, which have struggled to meet a surge in demand.

Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington.

After a court order to issue full SNAP payments late last week, some states rushed to get the benefits to people.

But when the Supreme Court then paused the order, the Agriculture Department said states must immediately undo those payments and threatened penalties.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Plattkin says this makes no sense, especially given new moves to possibly end the shutdown.

A Trump administration attorney says states jumped the gun and should only send partial payments for now.

Once the shutdown does end, we'll issue full benefits in 24 hours, he told the judge.

Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington.

An appeals court late Sunday repeated what two federal judges had already said.

The Trump administration must pay the full amount of food aid that SNAP enrollees are entitled to.

In its ruling, the court said the harm in limiting those payments would be immense.

And it said the administration had, quote, sat on its hands for nearly a month, refusing to prepare for a funding shortfall it knew was coming.

The Agriculture Department argues that tapping a larger pot of money to make full payments would hurt other nutrition programs.

The government's latest appeal to the Supreme Court comes despite moves to end the federal shutdown, which would render the SNAP standoff moot.

Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

Shortly after the ruling Thursday, a growing number of states started to announce they'd send out November's SNAP payments.