Seems like the judge is one only grown ups in this Govt. Shuydown game of chicken….
A federal judge on Thursday indicated she would probably order the Trump administration to use reserves to partially fund food assistance for about 42 million Americans in November, potentially delaying a complete cutoff in benefits during the government shutdown.
Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts spoke at a hearing in litigation brought by a coalition of 23 Democratic attorneys general and three Democratic governors against the Agriculture Department over its decision to not tap into a contingency fund to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in November. Because of the government shutdown, states are not able to access federal funding for the program, leaving millions of people without crucial payments necessary to purchase groceries. The program would have ceased to send out funds to states as soon as Saturday
“Congress has put money in an emergency fund, and it is hard for me to understand how this is not an emergency,” Talwani said during Thursday’s hearing.
At the hearing, Talwani said she can’t wait for Congress to pass an appropriations bill, saying she has to rely on existing laws and regulations that USDA has already adopted.
“Congress told you what to do if there is no money,” said Talwani, who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama. “You need to figure out how to stretch that emergency money for now.”
The judge made it clear she wants USDA to get the money out the door, not come up with excuses for why it believes it can’t.
“That’s lawyering,” she said. “I want agency action, not lawyering.”…
Note….
Again?
The Fedferal judges, absent Supreme ‘s, seem to be the hero’s of the second Trump term….
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