The White House had been arguing that it only has funds to pay out partial benefits to the more than 40 million Americans who rely on food stamps.

About 1 in 8 U.S. residents get an average of $187 a month per person in the food assistance known as SNAP. For the first time, the Trump administration stopped the payments due at the beginning of the month.

PROVIDENCE – SNAP payments started going out to the estimated 79,000 card holders in Rhode Island on Nov. 8, after the Trump administration announced a day earlier that it would be providing full benefits for November, even as the government continues a legal challenge to making full payments amid the federal government shutdown.

In a memo to states, the federal government followed up on previous guidance, and said maximum allotments are being reduced by 35% instead of 50%.

Even after the shutdown ends, SNAP will be at risk as states start to pay for a portion of the program for the first time. Their share will depend on an obscure stat -- the payment error rate.

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to fully fund SNAP benefits for Nov., providing relief for thousands of Georgia families who feared losing critical food assistance amid the ongoing government shutdown.