The Trump administration asked an appeals court Friday to immediately block an order that requires full November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to be paid to states by Friday.
The emergency request to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals calls the lower court’s order “unprecedented,” saying it makes “a mockery of the separation of powers.”
“This is a crisis, to be sure, but it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action,” the Justice Department wrote in its motion.
It asked for a ruling by Friday afternoon. The 1st Circuit ordered the cities and private organizations suing to respond in writing by noon EST.
One day earlier, U.S. District Judge John McConnell ruled the administration’s plan to provide partial SNAP benefits for November during the shutdown wasn’t sufficient, and it was obligated to tap other funds to dole out full payments.
It spurred the administration to begin appealing. It is taking the fast track in advance of McConnell’s Friday deadline for the federal government to get the full payments to states, which distribute the benefits to roughly 42 million recipients.
The administration has argued the shutdown effectively means there is no SNAP program, and its hands are tied until Congress passes a funding deal.
“Courts are charged with enforcing the law, but the law is explicit that SNAP benefits are subject to available appropriations,” the Justice Department’s new filing reads.
“Indeed, governing regulations contemplate that, in the event of a shortfall in funding, USDA will direct the States to reduce their benefit allotments—which is precisely what USDA did this week.”
McConnell, an appointee of former President Obama, ruled last week that the administration was required to deplete a roughly $5 billion emergency fund, at minimum. It’s not enough to cover the full November payments, estimated to cost upward of $9 billion.
The Trump administration then said it would do so but warned the partial payments could spark weeks-long delays in some states as recalculations are ironed out. McConnell said Thursday the plan was arbitrary and capricious, so the administration needed to get the full payments out.
“We shouldn’t have to force the President to care for his citizens, but we will do whatever is necessary to protect people and communities,” Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, a left-leaning legal group that represents the plaintiffs, said in a statement Thursday.
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