The fight over food benefits continued over the weekend, with the Trump administration winning another temporary delay in paying full benefits to tens of millions of recipients. But the person granting this ruling, one of the Supreme Court’s liberal justices, has surprised, confused, and angered many, though the legal reality is much more complicated than it may seem.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily pauses an order on full SNAP payments

On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted a temporary stay on an order to make full November payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Her ruling paused a Friday deadline set by Rhode Island Judge John McConnell for full SNAP payments to be made to the 42 million people who receive assistance from the federal food aid program. McConnell’s order that the Trump administration must pay full SNAP benefits for November by tapping into contingency funds as well as money from other sources had been the latest in a series of federal court rulings over the matter. The administration has been inconsistent in its rhetoric concerning the payments and filed a motion opposing McConnell’s ruling.

Jackson’s temporary pause is not a permanent block against McConnell’s ruling, nor is it a ruling on the underlying authority of the courts to order the administration to distribute SNAP funds. Instead, it sends the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Each Supreme Court justice is assigned one of the circuit courts, with Jackson covering the First Circuit and thus issuing the order.

“Given the First Circuit’s representations, an administrative stay is required to facilitate the First Circuit’s expeditious resolution of the pending stay motion,” Jackson’s brief order says. It also indicates her expectation that the First Circuit will act on the matter quickly. “This administrative stay will terminate forty-eight hours after the First Circuit’s resolution of the pending motion, which the First Circuit is expected to issue with dispatch,” Jackson wrote.

Reactions to Jackson’s ruling as SNAP fight continues

Jackson’s ruling initially sparked surprise and even outrage that the liberal justice would seemingly side with the administration and further delay the distribution of SNAP benefits.

“Why in the world is Ketanji Brown Jackson helping the Trump admin?!” one person posted on X, formerly Twitter. “What am I missing??”

Why in the world is Ketanji Brown Jackson helping the Trump admin?! What am I missing?? https://t.co/nQexNtoWZc— Aidan Reed (@AidanReed45) November 8, 2025

However, several observers reasoned that Jackson’s order was not a pro-Trump ruling.

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a lawyer, shared an article explaining Jackson’s ruling as a “compromise” to accelerate the case in the face of a conservative-dominated Supreme Court that might otherwise delay it. Crockett noted that Jackson “added language that typically isn’t there to hopefully send a signal and terminate the stay quickly.” Crockett further reasoned that Jackson “must have known or believed that they would slow walk the entire thing if the entire court got its hands on it. Please believe she is a real life HERO… where the H stands for her having actual humanity.”

This is a great explainer. In short, she added language that typically isn’t there to hopefully send a signal and terminate the stay quickly. She must have known or believed that they would slow walk the entire thing if the entire court got its hands on it. Please believe she is…— Jasmine Crockett (@JasmineForUS) November 8, 2025

Jackson’s ruling came amid continuing moves by the Trump administration to withhold benefits to SNAP recipients. In addition to fighting the courts’ rulings concerning SNAP payments, it has also hindered relief for SNAP recipients in several ways, even preventing grocery stores from giving preferential benefits to SNAP-eligible customers. Over the weekend, the administration warned states not to distribute full benefits and even ordered those states that had already made full payments to take back that money. Meanwhile, the deal struck in the Senate on Sunday to end the government shutdown restores funding for SNAP, but it may be days before the House passes it and President Donald Trump signs it, meaning additional SNAP delays are likely. Also on Sunday, the First Circuit rejected the administration’s appeal, affirming McConnell’s ruling that the administration must fully fund SNAP for November. Given Jackson’s order, this ruling may not take effect until Tuesday, 48 hours after it was made, and the Trump administration has already appealed this decision to the Supreme Court, arguing on Monday that the court should grant a stay, citing the Senate deal as part of its rationale for delaying the order.

With these latest developments, many SNAP recipients may still be days away from receiving full benefits this month. However, the latest rulings from the courts and the deal being worked out in Congress indicate that those benefits will come, providing relief for tens of millions of people who have been placed under financial strain during this fight over food assistance.
The post Why Did Ketanji Brown Jackson Grant Trump’s Request To Pause SNAP? Here’s Why It Wasn’t A Pro-Trump Move appeared first on Blavity.



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