(CNN) — Two federal judges said Friday that the Trump administration must tap into billions of dollars in emergency funds to at least partially cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November.

The rulings from judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island reject a controversial US Department of Agriculture claim that it could not use a contingency fund, which the agency says has $5.3 billion remaining in it, to help cover the benefits amid the month-long government shutdown.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program costs between $8 billion and $9 billion a month, so the orders will not cover all of the needed payments for November.

“There is no doubt that the … contingency funds are appropriated funds that are without a doubt necessary to carry out the program’s

See Full Page