A federal judge in Boston on Thursday seemed skeptical of the Trump's administration's argument that SNAP benefits could be suspended for the first time in the food aid program's history because of the government shutdown.

Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would need to release partial funds by Wednesday, Nov. 5.

“People have gone without for too long,” McConnell told government lawyers at a hearing Thursday. “Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable.”