Officials from 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Tuesday aiming to have the Trump administration to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Recipients of SNAP have been warned across the United States that they won't receive funds on their debit cards in November as the government shutdown continues.

A group of attorneys general and governors said in the lawsuit that the administration is legally required to use a contingency fund to pay for continuing benefits.

The group has identified a contingency fund of around $5 billion, which would be enough to pay for SNAP for more than half a month.

In a post to X Monday, the White House said, “Over 40 million Americans face the risk of losing critical SNAP food benefits. This crisis could be resolved if Democrats prioritized the needs of the American people over political games.”

When reached by email Tuesday, the White House referred Newsweek to the Office of Management and Budget.

The suspension of SNAP benefits threatens critical food access for more than 41 million low- and no-income Americans across the country, serving about 1 in 8 U.S. residents.

As the shutdown, which started October 1, stretches to a historic length, bipartisan criticism has grown over the administration's handling of emergency funds and the economic consequences for already strained households.

Legal experts and state officials argued that this withholding of support was unprecedented in the program’s six-decade history, raising both humanitarian and statutory questions.

The coalition—comprising 25 states and the District of Columbia—filed suit in Boston federal court to compel the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use $6 billion in contingency funds to pay November SNAP benefits.