A Boston federal judge suggested she was not persuaded by the Trump administration's argument that it is legally barred from using a USDA emergency fund to keep the SNAP benefits coming.

A federal judge in Massachusetts might order the federal government to tap emergency funds to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

With benefits expected to run out Saturday because of the government shutdown, Democratic leaders of 25 states allege the USDA is required to keep providing funds.

State elected Democrats are struggling to pull together a plan to continue food assistance for roughly 1.4 million Michiganders, just days before a Nov. 1 deadline.

SNAP has about $6 billion in the contingency fund — short of the roughly $9 billion needed to cover a full month of the program, putting November benefits in jeopardy.

A group of Democratic states is suing the Department of Agriculture and its secretary, Brooke Rollins, for failing to use emergency funds to help alleviate the lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits caused by the government shutdown.

Yes, EBT cards will indeed continue to work during the government shutdown, even in November when no new SNAP funds will be issued, according to officials in Providence. The USDA confirmed this in a statement sent to all SNAP state agencies. This means that any unused SNAP money you have from October is expected to roll over into November.

With food-stamp funding set to lapse Saturday, recipients are asking what happens to their benefits — and when help might resume.