The imminent reopening of the government fundamentally changes the situation for November 2025 SNAP benefits and will likely render the ongoing appellate litigation (including the First Circuit's pending stay decision and Justice Jackson's temporary SCOTUS administrative stay) moot once the funding bill is signed into law.
The bipartisan agreement reached in the Senate on November 9, 2025, includes:
The bipartisan agreement reached in the Senate on November 9, 2025, includes:
- A short-term continuing resolution (CR) funding the entire government through January 31, 2026.
- Attached full-year FY2026 appropriations for several key bills, explicitly including the Agriculture appropriations bill (which covers USDA and SNAP) through September 30, 2026.
This means as soon as President Trump signs the package (expected within hours or days of final passage), USDA will have full, unrestricted appropriations to issue 100% of November SNAP benefits retroactively. Any household that received only partial (50-65%) benefits — or nothing at all —will automatically get a supplemental payment.
- The controversy becomes moot. The lawsuits attempted to force USDA to tap contingency + Section 32 funds during the Schumer shutdown. Once regular appropriations are restored, there is no longer a live dispute over emergency funding sources/