Washington — Two federal judges on Friday said the Trump administration must tap into contingency funds to make payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown , ruling against the government in a pair of suits over the imminent benefits lapse. Roughly 42 million Americans rely on SNAP to help buy food.

In a case brought by a coalition of states in federal court in Massachusetts, Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the government is required by law to tap into the emergency money to make at least partial payments, and gave the administration until Monday to tell the court whether it planned to do so.

In Rhode Island, another federal judge granted a request for a temporary restraining order from a group of municipalities and nonprofits wh

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