President Donald Trump backtracked Tuesday on a pledge by his administration in court filings to partially fund November food assistance during the government shutdown, posting on social media that benefits “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said later Tuesday that Trump was referring to future uses of a food assistance contingency fund and that the administration was complying with the court order, though that description did not match Trump’s post.

It was not immediately clear what effect Trump’s declaration that he would refuse to provide food aid would have on benefits that usually are provided to some 42 million Americans and, at the moment, are shut off pendi

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