A federal judge on Thursday indicated she would probably order the Trump administration to use reserves to partially fund food assistance for about 42 million Americans in November, potentially delaying a complete cutoff in benefits during the government shutdown.

Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts spoke at a hearing in litigation brought by a coalition of 23 Democratic attorneys general and three Democratic governors against the Agriculture Department over its decision to not tap into a contingency fund to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in November. Because of the government shutdown, states are not able to access federal funding for the program, leaving millions of people without crucial payments necessary to pur

See Full Page