USDA to Implement Full SNAP Benefits for November
The Trump administration announced that full SNAP benefits will be available for November after appealing a previous court ruling requiring these payments in full. In a memo, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) stated that its Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is working to ensure complete benefits are issued in November 2025 to comply with the ruling, and plans to finalize the process to make funds accessible later in the day.
The USDA memo mentioned, “FNS is working to implement full benefit issuance in November 2025,” in response to an order from the Rhode Island District Court issued on November 6, 2025. It further stated that the necessary processes would be completed soon, allowing for the full issuance file to be submitted to the EBT processor.
This development follows the Department of Justice (DOJ) filing a notice of appeal regarding a ruling from U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island, which mandated the administration to ensure full payments for November’s SNAP benefits within a single day. On the very next day, the DOJ requested the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to pause McConnell’s order.
On November 6, the DOJ filed its appeal on the same day Judge McConnell directed that SNAP benefits be fully provided for November within 24 hours. They sought to have this order paused by 4 p.m. EDT on November 7.
The administration stated, “There is no legal basis for an order directing [the USDA] to somehow find $4 billion in a metaphorical couch cushion.”
Due to a 38-day government shutdown, around 42 million SNAP participants had not received their benefits at the start of the month. Reports emerged that the Trump administration indicated it could disburse some of November’s SNAP benefits by utilizing “billions of dollars in emergency funds.”
Democratic leaders, like Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), have recognized that although government shutdowns cause significant hardship for families, they also see it as a strategic opportunity. “The shutdown is terrible, and of course there are families who are going to suffer,” Clark shared during a Fox News interview, “but this is one of the few times we can step up.”
