A federal judge has indicated she will order the Trump administration to use contingency funds to pay for food assistance benefits in Michigan and other states.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said in an order issued on Friday afternoon, Oct. 31, that she was giving the U.S. Department of Agriculture until Monday, Nov. 3, to decide if it would pay reduced benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by using the contingency funds that are available or pay full benefits by using that and other funds as well.

The Trump administration had indicated that it would not pay SNAP benefits after Nov. 1 because of the ongoing month-long federal shutdown, arguing that it was illegal for it to use some $5 billion in contingency funds to continue to pay benefits to some 42 m

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