WASHINGTON >> A federal appeals court today refused to lift a judge’s order requiring U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to fully fund this month’s food aid benefits for 42 million low-income Americans during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered its ruling hours after the U.S. Department of Agriculture informed states it would be making funds available to fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, as ordered in a Thursday ruling by a Rhode Island judge.

USDA sent the memo to states even as the U.S. Department of Justice urged the federal appeals court to block the judge’s order that USDA use by today $4 billion set aside for other purposes to ensure Americans receive full rather than red

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