According to original reporting from the Washington Post on Thursday afternoon, a federal judge indicated she would most likely order Trump administration officials to use reserve funds to at least partially restore food assistance for about 42 million Americans, the newspaper said.
The report related comments from Judge Indira Talwani, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, who spoke at a hearing on the matter.
The suit was brought by a coalition of 23 Democratic attorneys general, and three Democratic governors, against the Agriculture Department over its decision to halt SNAP assistance, rather than authorize the use of contingency funds.
During testimony, plaintiffs said the states are not able to access federal funding for the program, leaving millions of people without crucial payments necessary to purchase groceries as soon as Saturday.
“Congress has put money in an emergency fund, and it is hard for me to understand how this is not an emergency,” Judge Talwani was quoted as saying during Thursday’s hearing.
Talwani stated that she can’t wait for Congress to pass an appropriations bill, and she must to rely on existing laws and regulations, which the USDA already adopted.
