Washington (USA), 31 October (LaPresse) – Donald Trump opens up to the possibility of using emergency funds to finance the Snap food subsidy programme for low-income Americans, which is at risk of closing this weekend due to the shutdown. ‘Our government lawyers do not believe we have the legal authority to provide SNAP with some of the funds at our disposal, and now two courts have expressed conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do,’ the president wrote on Truth, referring to two orders issued today. ‘I don't want Americans to go hungry just because Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,’ Trump announced. ‘If the court provides us with the appropriate legal guidance, it will be my honour to disburse the funds, just as I did with the salaries of the military and law enforcement,’ adds the president, who returns to accusing the Democrats and accompanies his post with the telephone number of the office of the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, inviting citizens to call and ask for ‘the government to reopen immediately,’ putting an end to the shutdown. According to the US administration's interpretation, emergency funds for SNAP, which are in any case insufficient to cover the entire November requirement, should only be used in the event of natural disasters and not in the event of an end to federal government funding due to a lack of agreement in Congress.
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