Vice President JD Vance is expected to come to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to attend a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Oct. 28, in Boston, called a looming food aid cutoff "contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious." The Agriculture Department in a recent memo said it can't use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits,

As November looms, states are trying to sort what options they can offer beneficiaries to fill the gap in food assistance. Reporters from the NPR Network are covering the impact of this potential lapse in states across the country.

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

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- With the impending loss of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program potentially causing low-income Americans and their families to go hungry, 25 states have filed suit to force the federal government to release funds for the program during the federal government shutdown.

The USDA, in recent statements and internal memos, underscored its position that using SNAP contingency funds in lieu of authorized appropriations would leave fewer resources for other nutrition programs such as WIC, the National School Lunch Program, and Child Nutrition Programs.

Officials from half the states and the District of Columbia are asking a federal judge to order the Department of Agriculture to provide food stamp benefits for November.

A growing number of restaurants and food trucks around the Bay Area are announcing their plans to provide a range of free and discounted meals for recipients of SNAP, the federal food aid program

Although Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House, the filibuster rule in the U.S. Senate effectively means 60 votes are needed to pass substantive legislation. The GOP advantage over Democrats in the Senate is only 53-45, with two independents who vote with Democrats.

The ongoing government shutdown means more than $600 million per month won’t go to millions of Texas SNAP beneficiaries who pump that money into the state economy.