Court Orders Restart of SNAP Benefits, What Does that Mean for Washington

The Trump administration decided not to appeal two separate court rulings issued on Friday in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which ordered the restart of SNAP benefits for all Americans using the existing reserve fund. Here is what that decision means for residents of Washington state.

At today’s noon deadline, the administration announced that it would restart benefits in compliance with the court order, using a $4.65 billion reserve fund set aside for government shutdowns or national emergencies. That’s enough money to provide about 58.1% of the needed funds for SNAP benefits nationwide in November.

The federal government has stated that it will require a reasonable amount of time, measured in days, to calculate state payments and provide notices. Experts we talked to said that due to the unprecedented nature of the situation, this is not an unreasonable request.

The Washington state DSHS website posted that they are evaluating the court decisions and will reinstate benefits as soon as they have guidance.

If you receive SNAP, do not assume you’ll get a partial benefit for November tomorrow, or the next day, or this week. Additionally, the courts ruled that no funds would be available for anyone starting SNAP benefits in November. So, if you’re new to the program this month, you won’t receive funds.

It may take states with older computer systems several months to calculate the payment and distribute it, while others should be able to complete the process in days to a couple of weeks. We do not know where Washington state falls on this spectrum.

Assuming the Trump administration distributes the benefits equitably and doesn’t favor some states over others, November’s benefit will be approximately 17.5 days. If your normal SNAP disbursement is $300 per month (the national average), your November benefit will be approximately $174.30, assuming all the figures presented in court today are accurate.

Corporate America Called for Benefits to Restart

The U.S. distributes approximately $96 billion in SNAP benefits per year, with just five corporations receiving 53 cents of every SNAP dollar spent by consumers.

• Walmart/Sam’s Club: 29.9%
  Kroger: 8.6%
  Costco: 5.9%
  Albertsons/Safeway: 5.2%
  Ahold Delhaize (Food Lion, Giant, Stop&Shop): 3.4%

Over the weekend, Walmart, which has the most to lose, was also the first to blink. The company called for the reinstatement of SNAP benefits using the reserve fund. Net profits in the grocery and convenience industry, that’s the money left over after all expenses and taxes, are under 2%. Walmart had a net profit of $15.51 billion in fiscal year 2024. Potentially losing up to $28.7 billion in annual SNAP dollars spent by consumers would be a critical blow to the bottom line.

What’s Next

The government is only partially funded under a continuing resolution (CR) that expires on November 21, 2025. If no compromise is reached in the Senate to pass the so-called “clean funding bill,” which would defund the ACA, or if the House does not reconvene to essentially start over, more severe issues will arise.

In our assessment, given the court decisions in Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as the Trump administration’s compliance with the orders, neither party has a reason to compromise and pass the so-called “clean funding bill” before November 21. The House is not in session this entire week. That leaves a maximum of 12 working days to agree on a new CR or extend the current one.

Additionally, the Trump White House’s talking points about funding and who has been holding up the SNAP funds were destroyed when the administration admitted they could have used the funds the entire time.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has other issues if he calls the House back into session. Critically, he will have to come up with a new excuse not to seat Arizona congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ). Once seated, the Republican majority in the House gets thinner, and there will be enough signatures to force a vote to release all the Epstein files.

If he doesn’t call the House back into session, then the current CR expires before Thanksgiving, and the shutdown would belong exclusively to the Republicans as the so-called clean bill dies.

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