President Donald Trump has recently sparred with courts over the decision to issue full payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Several lower courts have ordered the president to make such payments in full amid the government shutdown, but the Supreme Court has intervened.
The High Court has extended a previous order that blocked full SNAP payments, as reported by the New York Post.
Such a decision comes on the heels of the government reopening.
On Sunday, the Senate reached an agreement after 41 days to fund the government through January 2026.
In a 60-40 vote, with 8 Democrats joining Republicans, senators voted to support a spending package that would pave the way for the reopening of the federal government.
The measure now awaits a vote in the House.
In a Fox News interview with host Laura Ingraham, the president noted the advantage that some people are taking with SNAP.
Trump said that individuals without the means to obtain the program’s benefits are quitting their jobs and relying on it.
“SNAP is supposed to be if you’re down and out,” Trump told Ingraham.
The Fox News host then asked the president if there was a way to reform the program.
“We can reform it… It really puts the country in jeopardy… People that are able-bodied… leave their job because they figure they can pick this up…” he replied.
The latest court ruling serves as a significant victory for the president, who, on November 4, released an announcement on Truth Social indicating that SNAP payments would resume only when the government reopened.
“SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office… will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” Trump said.
As of this writing, approximately 42 million Americans rely on SNAP for their groceries, with children accounting for 40% of recipients.
The House is expected to vote on the spending package today, paving the way for the program to resume.
SNAP was established as part of the Food Stamp Act of 1964, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
However, similar programs were created long before.
During the onset of the Great Depression in 1939, the First Food Stamp Program was initiated and ultimately reached over 20 million people, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Trump spoke about the SNAP program on Nov. 5, saying it wasn’t created merely as a handout for millions of people. The president criticized his predecessor for, as he put it, giving it to “anybody who asked.”
“These benefits were given to anybody that asked. They’re up to $47 billion. It wasn’t the purpose of SNAP … During Biden they gave it to anybody who wanted it. I think it’s something you have to talk about,” he said.
