Two federal judges have said the Trump administration cannot use the government shutdown to suspend food assistance for 42 million Americans. But hours into Saturday, when payments were due to be disbursed, President Donald Trump appears to be defying the ruling, potentially leaving millions unable to afford this month’s grocery bills.

A pair of federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled Friday that the Department of Agriculture’s ( USDA ) freeze on benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP ), also known as food stamps, was unlawful and that the department must use money from a contingency fund of $6 billion to pay for at least a portion of the roughly $8 billion meant to be disbursed this month.

“There is no doubt that the six billion

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