Democrats sue the government rather than reopen it?

They want the government to continue to do things without reopening it.

Talk about losing the narrative. They are starting to realize that if they are not specifically getting blamed, that they are at least not winning the PR battle. So apparently someone thought it would be a good idea to sue themselves to make sure that SNAP payments and other things start getting paid for. It's almost as if they don't quite understand what a government shutdown is and how it actually harms people. They apparently want the shutdown, but they still want certain things to function (of course, just those things that they want).

Now under what authority can they sue here? Congress controls the purse strings and they have to provide a budget for things such as SNAP. Without a budgeted amount for these things, it is a bit difficult for the Administration to pay for things legally. This is why a continuing resolution is what is now being called for by almost everyone. But apparently by filing their 24,751st lawsuit since Trump has taken office, they must believe that their faithful will see them as doing something and possibly blame Trump for the lawsuit being filed. I mean isn't he to blame for everything?

I believe there are some guarantees for SNAP recipients to receive certain funding. But that funding still has to come from Congress (not the White House). Part of closing the Government is the fact that only "essential" processes continue and even then, some of these essential functions are tied to people working for no pay. While the White House can pick and choose what is "essential" I am not certain what they can be forced to do here by a judge, much less an appellate or the high court.