(CNN) — A federal judge in Rhode Island said Thursday that the Trump administration must fully cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November.

“People have gone without for too long,” US District Judge John McConnell said during a hastily called hearing Thursday. “Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable.”

Nearly 42 million Americans receive food stamps. Payments are made on a staggered basis over the course of a month.

McConnell’s order comes days after the administration, in response to an earlier order from him, said it would provide only partial food stamp benefits for November by tapping into some $4.65 billion in a contingency fund maintained by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The judge said the government

See Full Page