United States President Donald Trump has claimed he will only provide nutrition assistance to low-income Americans once the government shutdown ends, appearing to defy two court orders demanding he free up contingency funds to keep the food aid scheme operational.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves one in eight Americans each month, was set to freeze on November 1, after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on October 10 that it would not be able to fund the programme if the shutdown continued.

The US government shutdown entered its 35th day on Tuesday, equalling the longest in the country’s history.

Last week, federal judges in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island doled out separate but similar rulings that told the federal governmen

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