'Irreparable harm': Legal experts bash Supreme Court's 'especially troubling' new order

Legal analysts and court watchers on Tuesday bashed the Supreme Court's latest "especially troubling" order pausing food assistance payments for millions of Americans.

The Supreme Court extended its administrative stay, preventing President Donald Trump's administration from disbursing more than $4 billion in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The funding was previously approved by Congress and was set in an account only to be used when the government shuts down, according to reports.

Some experts said on Tuesday that the order would cause more harm to needy families who rely on the benefits to afford groceries.

"In other words, the Court is trying to buy itself two more days to see if the House approves the shutdown deal (which may well moot this case), rather than having to rule *now* on whether USDA can be forced to fully fund SNAP for November. And KBJ objects because she’d just deny the application now," CNN legal analyst Steve Valdeck posted on Bluesky.

"We hope to see an end to this suffering soon, as the government reopens and SNAP is once again fully funded," New York Attorney General Letitia James told CNBC. "In the meantime, any New Yorkers who have received their November SNAP benefits should not be afraid to use them.”

“Any further stay would prolong that irreparable harm and add to the chaos the government has unleashed, with lasting impacts on the administration of SNAP. The government has offered no defensible justification for that result," a coalition of cities and nonprofit groups suing to overturn the administrative stay, told local news station Fox 8.

"The fact that the Supreme Court extended its stay blocking SNAP payments that could go to some veterans on *Veterans Day* is especially troubling," Manoj Mate, a law professor at the University of Buffalo, posted on Bluesky.