The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which benefits about 42 million people, will run out of funds in two weeks if the government shutdown continues, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House on Thursday.

“We're talking about millions and millions of vulnerable families, families who are going hungry and who will not have access to these programs because of this shutdown,” Rollins said.

Rollins blamed Democratic legislators in Congress for the potential lack of funding for SNAP, posting on expire.

Rollins' comments came a week after the US Department of Agriculture informed states that there is not enough money to pay out full food stamp benefits in November if the disruption in federal funding continues.

The agency asked states to postpone November payments until further notice. notice.

The SNAP program has a contingency fund of approximately $6 billion, but November benefits are expected to total approximately $8 billion.

The USDA's shutdown plan indicated that contingency funds are available to finance benefits in the event of a disruption.

The WIC program, which provides food assistance to nearly 7 million pregnant women, new mothers, and young children, was close to exhausting its funds earlier this month.

The Trump administration diverted $300 million in tariff revenue to keep WIC running.