A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from cutting off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beginning this weekend because of the government shutdown, ordering officials to first spend an emergency fund.

The roughly $5.25 billion fund is not enough to fully cover November benefits for the food assistance program, which will cost the government upward of $9 billion.

But U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s order prevents the administration from completely drying up the benefit for more than 40 million Americans starting Saturday,

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