As the government shutdown drags into another tense week, millions of Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are facing a bewildering and precarious situation. The latest twist in this high-stakes legal and political battle unfolded on November 10, 2025, as federal government lawyers returned to the Supreme Court, seeking to keep SNAP funding on hold—leaving Arizona families and people across the nation in limbo, according to The Associated Press.
The program, which helps about 42 million Americans—including approximately 900,000 Arizonans—buy groceries with EBT debit cards, has become the center of a fierce tug-of-war between the Trump administration, state governments, and the courts. The uncertainty began when, on November 7, the Supreme Court granted the administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a lower court order that would have required full funding for SNAP payments during the shutdown. The nation’s highest court was expected to decide late on November 11 whether to extend the freeze, a decision that could have immediate consequences for families counting on these benefits.
The legal chaos has been compounded by a series of conflicting directives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP. After a federal judge approved a temporary restraining order against the USDA’s demand to “undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits,” some states—including Arizona—began processing payments for November. But the USDA quickly reversed course, warning in a letter to state SNAP directors that, “To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized.” The agency went further, instructing states to immediately undo any steps taken to issue full benefits, and warning of potential penalties for noncompliance.
This whiplash has left both state officials and recipients confused and frustrated. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, speaking on November 10, insisted that, “In processing full SNAP benefits for November, Arizona was following USDA’s own guidance as well as a court order.” She didn’t mince words about the federal government’s shifting stance: “The Trump administration’s cruel and chaotic attempt to undo their earlier guidance continues to confuse and harm families who need access to their SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families. We will keep fighting in court to ensure Arizonans have access to food.”
Arizona isn’t alone in its struggle. More than two dozen states, represented by Democratic attorneys general and other officials, warned in a court filing that the Trump administration’s refusal to reimburse states for legally ordered SNAP payments could trigger “catastrophic operational disruptions.” The states argued that demands to return hundreds of millions of dollars in aggregate could leave vendors unpaid and cause a cascade of harms for residents, especially as the shutdown stretches on. According to the states’ filing at the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, “That situation would risk catastrophic operational disruptions for the States, with a consequent cascade of harms for their residents.”
Some states had even taken matters into their own hands. In Alaska, for example, Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, called the USDA’s directive “shocking” if it applied to states that used their own funds to maintain SNAP during the shutdown. “It’s one thing if the federal government is going to continue its level of appeal through the courts to say, no, this can’t be done,” Murkowski said. “But when you are telling the states that have said this is a significant enough issue in our state, we’re going to find resources, backfill or front load, whatever term you want, to help our people, those states should not be penalized.”
The legal battle has played out in real time, with states scrambling to interpret and act on a dizzying array of federal instructions. As Maryland Governor Wes Moore told CBS on Sunday, “In the past six days, we’ve received four different measures of guidance” from the Trump administration. Moore, clearly exasperated, added, “There is a chaos, and it is an intentional chaos, that we are seeing from this administration.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey echoed the frustration, explaining that her state had processed and placed SNAP benefits on EBT cards before the Supreme Court’s order Friday night, following previous USDA guidance. She vowed to fight any attempt by the Trump administration to claw back the money: “Massachusetts residents with funds on their cards should continue to spend it on food,” Healey said in a statement. “President Trump should be focusing on reopening the government that he controls instead of repeatedly fighting to take away food from American families.”
In Wisconsin, the consequences of federal indecision have been especially acute. After a judge in Rhode Island ordered the restoration of benefits last week, Wisconsin loaded benefits onto cards for 700,000 residents—nearly 270,000 of them children. But with the U.S. Treasury freezing reimbursements, the state’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers warned on Sunday that Wisconsin could run out of money by Monday. “No,” Evers said flatly in response to the Trump administration’s demand to undo the payments. “Pursuant to and consistent with an active court order, Wisconsin legally loaded benefits to cards, ensuring nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including nearly 270,000 kids, had access to basic food and groceries.” Evers also pointed out that the Trump administration had previously assured Wisconsin and other states that they were “actively working to implement full SNAP benefits for November and would ‘complete the processes necessary to make funds available.’ They have failed to do so to date.”
The partisan rancor has only intensified as Democrats have hammered the administration for targeting the anti-hunger program during the shutdown. They argue that the administration could have continued SNAP even as other parts of the government remained idle, while the Trump administration maintains it is following the law and responding to judicial decisions as they come. Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general sued to force the administration to maintain the program, winning favorable rulings last week that led to the swift release of benefits to millions in several states—until the Supreme Court’s intervention threw everything back into doubt.
Meanwhile, there is a glimmer of hope on Capitol Hill. The Senate took an initial step toward reopening the government with a proposed deal that includes full funding for SNAP. The bipartisan package, advanced Sunday night, would also ensure reimbursements for expenditures made during the shutdown. However, it does not include the extension of health insurance subsidies that Democrats had been seeking, and Arizona Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly were among the majority of Senate Democrats who voted against moving the legislation forward.
For the 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP—including the 900,000 in Arizona—the stakes could not be higher. As courtrooms and legislative chambers continue to debate, families across the country are left waiting, watching, and wondering when—or if—their next grocery purchase will be covered. The coming days promise more legal wrangling and political brinkmanship, but for those who rely on SNAP, the need is as immediate and pressing as ever.
