The Trump administration announced Monday that it will use a contingency fund to pay partial benefits for the month of November to clients of the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The announcement is in response to orders issued last week by federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island mandating that the U.S. Department of Agriculture issue at least partial payments.

The Associated Press reported Monday that government says the emergency fund it will use has $4.65 billion — enough to cover about half the normal benefits, approximately $8 billion per month.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James and officials from more than 20 other states and the District of Columbia are plaintiffs in the Massachusetts case.

The states went to court after the U.S. Departmen

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