On Friday, US District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island announced that he would order the US Department of Agriculture to distribute a pool of contingency funds "as soon as possible." 

While minutes before, Boston US District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the US government must announce by Nov. 3 whether they would authorize at least partial funding for the program using around $6 billion in contingency funds - and if so, when will they do it. 

McConnell's order is related to a case brought by Democrat-led cities and nonprofits who sought to keep federal funds flowing the the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while Talwani's case was brought by over two dozen Democratic states and the District of Columbia. 

Which, of course, completely takes pressure off Congress to find a speedy resolution to the ongoing shutdown. We're sure judges will simply order federal employees to be paid, effectively un-shutting-down the government.

By the end of the week, Democrats will be responsible for millions of Americans losing their food stamps due to their refusal to pass a clean continuing resolution to fund the federal government amid day number 29 of the shutdown. Already, working-class households are turning to food banks nationwide, and some of these free food distribution centers are warning of collapse, as they lack the proper supplies to fill the gap if food stamp cards go dark.

"Democrats have spent a month playing with people's livelihoods because the far-left wing of their party won't let them accept a clean, nonpartisan CR. If they want to prevent damage from their shutdown, then they can end their shutdown. The bill is right there at the desk," Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote on X. 

At the start of the week, the American Federation of Government Employees, the country's largest union representing federal workers, urged Democrats to abandon their current position and join Republicans in supporting a stopgap solution before more damage is done to working poor households and the economy.