Sensing that the Trump administration may string out SNAP payments, a group of plaintiffs filed an emergency order.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has laid out a path for the administration to fund SNAP benefits, which ran out on Saturday, saying the administration could tap more than $5 billion in emergency funds, as well as a much larger pot of tariff revenue collected by the Agriculture Department to fund the program.

Red tape stands in the way of issuing food assistance, as benefits shrink in the wake of the government shutdown, according to state officials.

Nebraska food pantries and anti-hunger advocates were somewhat relieved but racked with questions and concerns this week after learning that, despite the federal government shutdown, about half of November public grocery benefits are expected to flow to the state’s SNAP recipients.

Two federal judges told the U.S. Department of Agriculture it must begin using contingency funds to provide food assistance, but gave the agency until Monday to decide exactly how to do so.

Confusion is swirling around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, after President Donald Trump and the White House issued conflicting statements on Monday about its status during the ongoing government shutdown.