A judge is set to decide whether SNAP benefits can be cut off on Saturday

BOSTON — A federal judge indicated Thursday she is inclined to take steps to ensure that federal food assistance keeps flowing to 42 million Americans who depend on it. Trump administration officials say because of the government shutdown, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, will be cut off on Saturday.

"The well has run dry," the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, posted on its website.

But Democratic governors and attorneys general from some two dozen states sued the federal government to keep the payments coming, arguing SNAP benefits are an entitlement that cannot legally be cut off. They also make the case that stopping benefits would cause irreparable harm to millions of Americans, and to the state governments who will be left to deal with the fallout.

The Trump administration had argued the opposite; officials say they are legally prohibited from extending the benefits by using emergency funds.

But after an hour of arguments in Boston federal court Thursday, Judge Indira Talwani wasn't buying it.

"Congress put money in an emergency fund, and it is hard for me to understand how this is not an emergency," Talwani said. "It's really clear to me that what Congress was trying to do was protect the American people," she said, and she believes it was lawmakers intent to ensure that in the event of something like a shutdown, "we're not going to make everyone drop dead because it's a political game someplace else."

Even if the emergency fund is tapped for SNAP benefits, administration officials say its $5.5 billion falls short of the $9 billion needed to fully cover the whole month of November. They say recalculating benefits and arranging for partial payments would be a logistical nightmare — and could take weeks.

That means millions of Americans would still see some delay in receiving their next benefit, and they would also be receiving less than usual.

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