WASHINGTON D.C. – The United States Supreme Court issued an emergency order late on Friday, 7th November 2025, temporarily blocking a lower court's directive that would have compelled the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November. The move, granted by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, places a temporary hold on the disbursement of approximately $4 billion needed to prevent benefit cuts for nearly 42 million Americans amid a protracted federal government shutdown.

The intervention came just hours after the administration's request for a stay was denied by a Boston-based appeals court. The Justice Department argued in its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court that forcing the expenditure would cause "quintessential irreparable harm" as the funds, once disbursed, could not be recovered. Officials claimed that fully funding the program, which costs between $8.5 billion and $9 billion monthly, would require them to "raid school-lunch money" from other child nutrition programs.

This legal showdown is the latest development in a crisis sparked by a federal government shutdown that began on 1st October 2025, after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the new fiscal year. The shutdown, now in its 39th day, has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers and disrupted essential services.

Legal and Political Conflict

The conflict over SNAP funding began after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on 24th October that November benefits would be suspended due to the shutdown. A lawsuit was filed, leading U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island to order the administration to use emergency funds to make at least partial payments. When the administration opted for partial funding, Judge McConnell issued a subsequent order on Thursday, 6th November, demanding the benefits be paid in full by Friday. In a sharply worded ruling, he accused the administration of withholding benefits for "political reasons."

The administrative stay from the Supreme Court gives the appeals court more time to consider the case but prolongs the uncertainty for millions of families who rely on SNAP. An individual can receive a maximum monthly benefit of nearly $300, with a family of four receiving up to almost $1,000. The partial funding plan proposed by the administration would have covered only about 65% of the maximum benefit, potentially leaving some recipients with nothing.

Implications for Kenya and East Africa

While SNAP is a domestic American program, the political instability and fiscal battles reflected in the shutdown can have significant ripple effects on U.S. foreign policy and international aid commitments. Political shifts in Washington, particularly concerning government spending and the role of aid, are watched closely by humanitarian organizations and partner governments in East Africa.

The United States has historically been a primary donor to Kenya, with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) disbursing over $9.7 billion between 2001 and 2024 for health, emergency response, and food security programs. However, recent policy changes have created uncertainty. An executive order on 20th January 2025, initiated a 90-day pause on foreign aid, and on 1st July 2025, USAID was officially dissolved, with its functions absorbed into the State Department to align aid more closely with diplomatic priorities. These changes have already impacted aid delivery, causing funding freezes and program cancellations across the continent, including in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp, where the World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to cut rations.

Kenya hosts over 760,000 refugees, and the WFP's operations are critical. As of August 2025, severe funding cuts had already deepened the humanitarian crisis in refugee camps, with food rations falling far below basic survival needs. The current political climate in the U.S., exemplified by the shutdown and the contentious debate over domestic food aid, signals a potential for further volatility in the foreign assistance that millions in Kenya and the region depend on.