SCOTUS keeps temporary pause on $4 billion in SNAP payments; could become moot if shutdown ends

The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended a pause on a federal judge’s ruling that would have required the Trump administration to fully fund about $4 billion in additional SNAP food program payments in November.

The decision means the government, for now, does not have to distribute that additional SNAP funding as required by Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge John McConnell, according to NBC News. The block remains in place until midnight on Thursday.

Speaker Mike Johnson has called members of Congress to return for Wednesday, with voting expected to begin around 4 p.m. ET. If the vote goes as expected, the Senate-passed measure will pass in the House, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history. 

The case would likely become moot if the shutdown ends, as the SNAP program would be fully funded through September of next year.