The US Supreme Court has issued an emergency order allowing the Trump administration to temporarily withhold billions of dollars in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food benefits to millions of low-income Americans.
The decision came after the White House appealed a lower court ruling that required the administration to fully distribute SNAP payments by Friday. The Trump administration argued that, amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, it could only afford to fund the program partially.
Under the Supreme Court’s temporary order, about $4 billion in food aid can be withheld pending further legal proceedings. The SNAP program supports around 42 million Americans roughly one in eight citizens and costs nearly $9 billion per month.
Earlier, Rhode Island Judge John McConnell had accused the administration of withholding aid for “political reasons,” warning that 16 million children were at immediate risk of hunger without the payments. He directed the government to release the full funds, following a previous decision that required at least partial funding from contingency reserves.
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