Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday granted the federal government a temporary reprieve from a lower court order mandating full funding of food assistance benefits for November.

Last month, the USDA announced it would suspend all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November due to the government shutdown, which had endured for 37 days as of the time of writing. The announcement led to multiple lawsuits.

A Rhode Island district judge ruled on Thursday that US President Donald Trump’s administration must fund SNAP throughout the month of November, writing: 

Faced with a choice between advancing relief and entrenching delay, it chose the latter–an outcome that predictably magnifies harm and undermines the very purpose of the program it administers. Such conduct is more than poor judgment: it is arbitrary and capricious.

The Trump administration swiftly appealed.

The Supreme Court stay gives the First US Circuit Court of Appeals time to rule on the government’s request to block the district court orders while it appeals. Jackson’s order expires 48 hours after the First Circuit issues its decision, which it pledged to do quickly.

The order affects approximately 42 million recipients of SNAP benefits nationwide.