The Trump administration has appealed to a federal court to halt a judge’s directive mandating the distribution of full November SNAP benefits during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. This request was made Friday, even as certain states have already begun processing the payments.

U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. had set a deadline for the administration to disburse the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits by Friday. However, the administration is seeking an appeal to prevent any court orders from forcing them to utilize funds beyond what is available in a designated contingency fund.

Despite the legal maneuvering, some states have moved forward with the payments. In Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers’ spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, announced on Friday that some recipients had already received their full November benefits overnight on Thursday.

“We have confirmation that the payments have been processed, and recipients have reported seeing updates to their balances,” Cudaback stated.

This legal back-and-forth has extended a period of uncertainty for the SNAP program, which is crucial for approximately one in eight Americans, primarily aiding those with lower incomes.

Thursday’s federal court order came in a lawsuit from cities and nonprofits challenging the Trump administration’s decision to cover only 65% of the maximum monthly benefit, a decision that could have left some recipients getting nothing for this month. McConnell was one of two judges who ruled last week that the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely because of the federal shutdown.

The judges in both cases ordered the government to use one emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to pay for SNAP for November but gave it leeway to tap other money to make the full payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.

On Monday, the administration said it would not use additional money, saying it was up to Congress to appropriate the funds for the program and that the other money was needed to shore up other child hunger programs.

In its court filing Friday, Trump’s administration contended that Thursday’s directive to fund full SNAP benefits runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

“This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers. Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend,” the U.S. Department of Justice wrote in its request to the court.

Some states said they stood ready to distribute the money as quickly as possible.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it directed a vendor servicing its SNAP electronic benefit cards to issue full SNAP benefits soon after the federal funding is received. Benefits are provided to individuals on different days of the months. Those who normally receive benefits on the third, fifth or seventh of the month should receive their full SNAP allotment within 48 hours of funds becoming available, the department said, and others should receive their full benefits on their regularly scheduled dates.