The Trump administration on Monday pressed ahead in its effort to prevent states from paying full nutritional benefits for the month of November, despite the deal advancing in Congress that would fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in full and could render the issue moot in a matter of days.
Late Friday, the Supreme Court granted the administration’s request to halt full SNAP payments, pausing a lower court order that allowed November benefits to start flowing in some states. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sent the case back to a lower court to consider, and late Sunday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the administration’s request to halt payments.
The Trump administration is challenging that ruling, and the Supreme Court is expected to rule on Tuesday. Payments remain frozen until that time.
Calling for clawbacks: Over the weekend, while the courts were still wrestling with the issue, the Trump administration demanded that states “undo” any full payments that had been made, while threatening penalties for noncompliance.
“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” a Department of Agriculture official wrote to state SNAP directors. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
It’s not clear if the administration’s demand applies to states that used their own funds to make up the difference between the partial benefits provided by the federal government and the full amount scheduled to be paid. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said it would be “shocking” if the directive applied to her state, which started to pay SNAP benefits in full using state funds.
“It’s one thing if the federal government is going to continue its level of appeal through the courts to say, no, this can’t be done,” Murkowski said. “But when you are telling the states that have said this is a significant enough issue in our state, we’re going to find resources, backfill or front load, whatever term you want, to help our people, those states should not be penalized.”
Also on Monday, a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered a temporary block to the Trump administration’s directive to undo SNAP payments made in full.