WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Friday to deny swift and full food stamp payments to millions of low-income Americans, as it asked a federal appeals court to halt a judge’s recent order that would preserve those benefits during the shutdown.

The legal salvo once again plunged the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, into confusion and chaos — and raised the possibility that the poorest families may receive no aid while the fiscal stalemate in Washington remains unresolved.

The Trump administration specifically sought to challenge a ruling issued by a lower court Thursday. In that scathing order, Judge John J. McConnell Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, directed the government to tap an ample store of leftover federal money

See Full Page