On Sunday, US officials demanded that states “undo” full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that were paid out last week under court orders.

Patrick Penn, deputy under secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), released a memorandum that called for states to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” as any payments made were “unauthorized.”

The demand followed the US Supreme Court’s temporary stay of a lower court orders. Last week, the court froze a Rhode Island court order that directed the administration to fund SNAP through November. Because of the Supreme Court stay, the USDA claimed that states may not transmit full SNAP benefits. Instead, states should only disburse the 35 percent reduced amou

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