Democratic leaders from 25 states are suing the Agriculture Department over the looming suspension of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. Benefits are expected to run dry across the country this weekend because of the ongoing government shutdown.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Massachusetts district court, argues that the USDA is legally required to continue providing SNAP benefits during the shutdown as long as it has funding. It calls on the court to compel the USDA to use contingency funds appropriated by Congress to keep the program running.

Up to 42 million people rely on SNAP food assistance, and recipients would ordinarily see their EBT cards get reloaded on Nov. 1. But the USDA website states that the agency will not allocate more funding while the shutdown persists — an unprecedented situation that could cause widespread hunger across the country.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the attorneys general of 22 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

“Millions of Americans are about to go hungry because the federal government has chosen to withhold food assistance it is legally obligated to provide,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools to fight hunger, and the USDA has the money to keep it running.”

James and her fellow plaintiffs argue that by not allocating contingency funds, the USDA is violating the Food and Nutrition Act, which protects access to SNAP benefits. They also allege that the USDA’s actions are arbitrary and capricious, and therefore violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

The leaders are seeking a temporary restraining order that would require the USDA to maintain SNAP benefits through November in their states.

When asked for comment about the lawsuit, a USDA spokesperson responded with a statement: “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. Continue to hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.”

(WIC refers to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which provides free food to low-income pregnant women, moms and children under 5. The program is similarly in danger of a funding shortfall because of the shutdown.)

If SNAP benefits are suspended, it would be the first time in the program’s 60-year history that the federal government stopped issuing them during a shutdown.