BATON ROUGE — On Wednesday, Gov. Jeff Landry addressed the ongoing government shutdown, including the possibility that thousands of Louisiana residents will go without Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits if it is not ended by Saturday.

Landry said that disabled people, children and the elderly will all get SNAP benefits for the upcoming month. He said that both sides of the aisle came together to make the decision to feed "the most vulnerable" Louisianians.

During the special legislative session, a resolution was passed urging the Louisiana Department of Health to use $150 million from its budget to backfill SNAP benefits for Louisiana residents who are elderly, disabled and families with children for the month of November.

Out of 800,000 Louisianians who depend on the government assistance, he said only 50,000 able-bodied adults who are on the program will not receive SNAP dollars. 

Landry said cutting spending to other programs over the last 20 months has put the state government in a position to help in a time of crisis. 

"This declaration has allowed us to tap into state funds to continue to provide food assistance for the elderly, the disabled and children, while the federal funding is paused," he said. 

The governor said guidance will be released by the state government, but cardholders in one of the three categories will not have to do anything to receive their benefits.

Wednesday also wrapped up a nearly week-long special legislative session regarding next year's election. Landry called the session one day after the Supreme Court heard arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, a court case that could determine whether the state's latest set of congressional maps is constitutional or if changes need to be made to the Voting Rights Act.

Lawmakers voted to push back spring primary elections next year from April to May, and a general election could be held in June. 

Some lawmakers argued pushing back the dates would cause unnecessary confusion for voters. Others said the choice would allow the state more time to redraw the maps if the Supreme Court ruled that the Congressional Maps with two majority minority districts were unconstitutional.

Last year, the state held a special session to draw the maps, adding a second majority minority district, one of which stretches from Baton Rouge to Shreveport. Months later, a group of voters filed a lawsuit saying the new set relied too heavily on race. 

While lawmakers say they expect an answer from the Supreme Court by the end of this year, it could be several months before the nation's highest court decides if Louisiana needs to start the process over.

During the public comment section, Landry fielded questions about the scolding of Loyola over decisions to disallow Turning Point on campus and his role in the recent firing of LSU's head football coach. 

"Tulane and Loyola are examples of what is wrong with this country, not what is right with it," Landry said. 

The governor also said that LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward would not be picking a head coach for the upcoming season.