Volunteers organize donated beans, powered milk and other nonperishable items during a food drive in front of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The event brought together faith leaders, food bank workers and furloughed federal employees who demanded that the Trump administration release billions in emergency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
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A federal judge says the Trump administration has until “no later than Monday” to consider whether to pay at least partial SNAP food benefits to 42 million low-income people. Judge Indira Talwani acknowledged this will leave millions of people without assistance starting Saturday.
Two dozen Democratic-led states had sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the administration’s decision to suspend the nation’s largest anti-hunger program for the first time in its history. The judge wrote they are correct in challenging that as unlawful. But she declined to issue a temporary restraining order, saying resuming payments at some point can still avoid irreparable harm to SNAP recipients.
Talwani said the Agriculture Department must use emergency funds to keep SNAP going. She also said other money is legally available, but left the decision of how much benefits to distribute up to the administration.
