ATLANTA — The federal government announced on Friday that it intends to comply with a judge’s order and fully fund SNAP for the month of November.
But this may change after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled later Friday night to block the payments, granting the Trump administration an emergency order.
A judge had given the Republican administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the administration asked the appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund, and instead allow it to continue with planned partial SNAP payments for the month.
Earlier in the day, we reported that the state of Georgia said it would issue those benefits in accordance with federal directives.
One SNAP recipient told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot she’s happy, but she’ll believe it when she sees it.
“I’m a little bit relieved. I’m just going to wait to see if it actually gets through because there’s been a lot of changes and uncertainty,” Najee Kinard said.
Channel 2 Action News obtained a letter from the USDA to all its regional directors for SNAP and to all the state agencies, including Georgia, that administer those benefits.
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The letter said the “(Food and Nutrition Service) is working toward implementing full benefit issuances in compliance with the order from the District Court of Rhode Island.”
That means it is now planning to fully fund SNAP for the month of November.
SNAP benefits ended at midnight on Saturday because of the federal government shutdown.
Food banks and food pantries across the state of Georgia scrambled to fill the gap as well as they could.
The Trump administration first fought the order to pay all or some of SNAP, but after the latest judge’s ruling, the USDA said it will comply.
Kinard said she’s glad to hear it.
“I’m very relieved that finally it came to a resolution. I know it took a lot to get to this point, so I’m celebrating myself and for other individuals and families who greatly depend on these benefits,” Kinard said.
The state said they were working with the state’s EBT card vendor to come up with a timeline as to when those cards will be reloaded and people can start purchasing food.
Now, with the Supreme Court’s ruling, it remains unclear if SNAP recipients will receive the funds.
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