By Emily Anderson Stern | The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo by Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune

As questions lingered about whether President Donald Trump’s administration would pay out federal food aid for November, Utah’s Republican leaders pledged up to $4 million for food banks.

Now, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay half of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits under a court order, Utah Senate Democrats are calling on the Legislature’s GOP supermajority to act and fund the rest of SNAP for the Utahns who rely on it.

In a letter sent Tuesday evening, the six-member Democratic caucus urged Gov. Spencer Cox, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams to call lawmakers into a special session to use a portion of Utah’s more than $330 million rainy-day fund to make up for the rest of the missing benefits.

“With confirmation that the federal government will only partially fund SNAP benefits for November, the timing is imperative for the state to cover the remaining amount to ensure families receive uninterrupted support while efforts continue to resolve the shutdown,” the letter read.

Democrats continued, “We are grateful for your creative funding solutions, including recent efforts to support the Utah Food Bank. However, the primary challenge remains delivering food to those who need it most.”

When Utah’s Republican elected officials announced the aid for food banks Friday, they blamed congressional Democrats for the SNAP stoppage.

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.