Tovia Smith
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The administration pressed the case, even as it acknowledged that the deal now advancing to end the shutdown would restore full funding.
One lawyer for the administration told a lower court that would happen as soon as 24 hours later.
The Supreme Court did not speak to the merits of the case, but in a three-sentence order, it did note that Justice Katonji Brown Jackson, who allowed a previous pause while the case was on appeal, would not have allowed the Trump administration to continue avoiding false SNAP payments.
The Trump administration's bid for help from the Supreme Court comes after a federal appeals court last night refused a similar request.
At issue is an order from a federal judge in Rhode Island requiring payment of full SNAP benefits instead of the 65% the administration wants to pay.
Meantime, a group of states who already paid some full benefits got a federal judge in Boston to temporarily stop the Trump administration from penalizing them.
Administration officials say those states may have to pay the government back for any payments over 65 percent and they could lose some federal funding.
The states insist they were in compliance with administrative guidance and court orders when making those payments.
A federal appeals court at midnight last night refused a Trump administration request to pause a lower court ruling, which means officials now have two days to pay SNAP benefits at 100 percent, not 65 percent, though they could take the case to the Supreme Court for the second time in a few days.
A deal to reopen the government could get full payments flowing almost as quickly, but the SNAP lapse may have longer-term ramifications.
Food pantries say they expect high demand to continue as many SNAP recipients need to restock their cupboards, and some food banks say they expect to be short on stocks since some large food orders they usually get from the government were not processed during the shutdown.
Some SNAP benefits had already landed with recipients when the Trump administration warned states to undo whatever they've done to distribute that money or states would risk financial penalties.
Meantime, Cindy Karkhart, who runs a food bank in West Virginia, says demand has more than tripled and the uncertainty is worsening the pain.
Administration officials did not respond to requests for comment, but Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking to Fox News, accused, quote, activist judges of trying to force funding that Congress declined and blamed Democrats for the lapse in benefits.
District Judge John McConnell Jr.