Copyright CBS News
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is directing its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) vendor to resume full payments for November. According to MDHHS, SNAP recipients who typically receive their benefits on the ninth of each month are expected to see their full payment for November within 48 hours. Recipients who receive benefits on the third, fifth and seventh of the month should have received them last week. Other recipients will receive their benefits on their normal scheduled date. "We are glad to be able to provide assistance to Michigan families to help them put food on the table," said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, in a statement. "The uncertainty, confusion, and frustration caused by the USDA's request to block SNAP payments for the more than one million Michigan residents who rely on food assistance has been unfair, and in Michigan, we will continue to do everything we can to help those affected." More than 1 million Michiganders rely on SNAP, which has been pending in the courts during the government shutdown. A federal court initially ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use its contingency fund to issue partial payments. A judge later ordered the Trump administration to issue full payments. On Friday night, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused that judicial order to give a federal appeals court time to decide whether to issue a more lasting halt. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit temporarily stayed the lower court's decision, after which the Justice Department sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court. In a memo obtained by CBS News, the USDA threatened to impose financial penalties on states that did not comply with the government's new orders. This comes after the Trump administration instructed states to "undo any step" taken to provide full SNAP payments.
