(NewsNation) — Roughly 42 million Americans are waiting for a ruling in an eleventh-hour lawsuit to free up Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program funding as the government shutdown nears a month.
The USDA announced it would freeze funding for SNAP food aid starting Nov. 1, claiming “the well has run out.”
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, the federal judge overseeing the case, was originally expected to issue a ruling Thursday. No formal ruling has come down, but Talwani on Thursday seemed skeptical the government could cut off the funding Saturday.
“If you don’t have money, you tighten your belt,” she said. “You are not going to make everyone drop dead because it’s a political game someplace.”
The ruling will determine whether the government dips into emergency funds. The last-minute hearing Thursday was over a lawsuit brought forth by 25 states and Washington, D.C., regarding the funding freeze, which is set to impact 1 in 8 Americans.
Lawmakers have battled over a roughly $5 billion contingency fund — money Republicans and the Trump administration argue they can’t legally touch.
“When it comes to SNAP, some of the Democrats have argued that you can use this contingency fund. But the truth is, there’s no legal mechanism to do it,” said House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson.
Lawyers for the federal government argued dispersing the contingency money violates the law and that partial payments are too complicated.
House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries countered that there are ways to access the funds, and that Republicans are withholding “so they can pressure Democrats into gutting the health care of the American people.”
The Democrat-led states that filed the lawsuit argued the government has a legal obligation to keep the program alive for millions of families living at or below the poverty line.
Some states have stepped up to at least keep their own version of the program running for now, with New York and Hawaii offering their own emergency money to help families who qualify for SNAP benefits.
<div class="video-container"></div> Millions await ruling in emergency SNAP funding lawsuit IUSTITIA.BG - Investigations 2009-2025 2025-10-31 11:48:07 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor's office Burgas district prosecutor's office Burgas district prosecutor's office Burgas district prosecutor's office Burgas district prosecutor's office Burgas district prosecutor's office Burgas district prosecutor's office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
