White House Asks Court to Halt Full SNAP Payments Justice Department says order to send them out during shutdown is unconstitutional
SNAP EBT information sign is displayed at a gas station in Riverwoods, Ill., Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, file)
The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order requiring it to distribute the full amount of November’s food assistance benefits despite the ongoing government shutdown.
In a filing on Friday, the administration argued that the order—issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr.—violates the Constitution by compelling the executive branch to spend money that has not been appropriated by Congress.
“This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers. Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend,” the Department of Justice wrote in its appeal.
Judge McConnell had directed the administration to make full payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by Friday. The White House, however, has asked the appeals court to suspend any order requiring it to exceed the balance available in a contingency fund.
The dispute has intensified weeks of uncertainty surrounding the SNAP program, which provides essential food benefits to roughly one in eight Americans, many with low incomes.
Thursday’s order came after cities and nonprofit organizations sued the Trump administration over its decision to issue only 65% of the maximum monthly SNAP benefit for November—a move that could have left some households with no aid at all.
Judge McConnell was one of two federal judges who ruled last week that the administration could not withhold all of November’s benefits due to the shutdown, but the broader legal fight over funding authority remains unresolved.
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