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A federal court is ordering the Trump administration to start paying out SNAP food benefits. In a weekend decision, the Rhode Island court said the administration must present a plan by Monday to either make full payments on that day or partial payments by Wednesday.
The program for low-income Americans has been suspended because of the shutdown. The USDA has a five-billion-dollar fund set aside for food emergencies, but said it couldn’t legally use the funds.
In his order Saturday, Judge John J. McConnell said, there’s no question that the congressionally-approved contingency funds “must be used now because of the shutdown.”
