Two court rulings from Massachusetts and Rhode Island halt the suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), thereby protecting 42 million low-income Americans nationwide.

The USDA has stated that it does not have sufficient funds to pay benefits, citing a budget crisis caused by the government shutdown.

Judge John McConnell deemed the decision not to use $5.25 billion from emergency funds as arbitrary, highlighting the devastating impact on families.

Additionally, Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the USDA was wrong in claiming it could not use emergency funds for the SNAP program.

The plaintiffs argued that the agency has enough resources to continue payments and warned that suspending them would cause an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

These rulings set an important precedent, demonstrating that a government shutdown cannot justify halting essential social assistance programs.