Trump admin fights order to pay SNAP benefits: 'Makes a mockery of separation of powers'

President Donald Trump's administration asked a court to block a federal judge's order to pay full food stamps benefits during the government shutdown.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued the order Thursday afternoon, following two weeks of confusion about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but the administration asked the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay.

"This is a crisis, to be sure, but it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action," the Department of Justice argued in the filing. "Instead, a single district judge has devised his own solution: ordering USDA to cover the SNAP shortfall by transferring billions of dollars that were appropriated for different, equally critical food-security programs — and to do so within just one business day (i.e., by today)."

"This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers," DOJ added. "Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend. Courts are charged with enforcing the law, but the law is explicit that SNAP benefits are subject to available appropriations."

Nearly 42 million Americans rely on the SNAP program, which ran out of funding at the start of November, but the administration agreed earlier this week to tap into a contingency account on McConnell's order but argued it couldn't use money from a separate account to pay for the benefits.