New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the Trump administration to force it to continue paying food stamp benefits next week despite the government shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, said it’ll pause payments on Saturday and won’t use contingency funds to cover the costs.

In her lawsuit, James said the USDA is legally obligated to utilize contingency funds for payments.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, helps 40 million Americans afford their groceries, including 3 million New Yorkers.

“SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools to fight hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running,” James said in a statement. "There is no excuse for this administration to abandon families who rely on SNAP, or food s

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