Democrats in the Utah Senate are urging the governor and Republican leaders in the Legislature to convene a special session to spend some of the state’s rainy day fund to cover nutrition assistant payments while the federal government is shut down.

The shutdown, which is now the longest on record , initially threatened to halt Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments altogether, but the Trump administration said Monday it will partially fund the program , commonly called food stamps, after two judges ruled it must use contingency funds to keep it running.

The Senate Democratic Caucus urged Gov. Spencer Cox and legislative leaders to step in to cover the difference for the month of November in a letter on Tuesday.

“With confirmation that the federal government will only p

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