The end of the government shutdown means food stamp benefits are flowing again, and the Justice Department told the Supreme Court to dismiss a case involving President Trump’s move to delay payments during the closure.
The Justice Department had asked the justices to get involved after a lower court ordered full benefits to go out despite the shutdown.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the high court on Thursday that it’s no longer an issue since the new funding law Mr. Trump signed this week includes money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, through the end of the fiscal year.
He said that makes the case “now moot,” so the administration is no longer asking the justices to get involved.
The case had been shaping up as a test of Mr. Trump’s spending powers amid the longest shutdown in history.
His administration argued that once the closure hit, SNAP ceased to exist.
A federal judge disagreed, ruling that the program still existed even if it wasn’t funded. He first ruled that Mr. Trump had to use money from a contingency fund, which covered 65% of benefits in November, then ordered the government to siphon money from the school lunch program to make up the rest.
Mr. Sauer had asked the justices to block that second order, saying it interfered in government decisions and risked upsetting negotiations between the White House and Congress.
The Supreme Court had put the full benefits order on hold for nearly a week, giving Congress time to come up with the deal that ended the shutdown.
Some 42 million people collect food stamp benefits.
Democrats accused Mr. Trump of halting payments as a tactic to increase the pain of the shutdown. His lawyers argued his hands were tied by the law, and the way to get benefits flowing again was to reopen the government.
