President Donald Trump late Wednesday signed into law a measure to end the longest-ever government shutdown after 43 days, fully fund USDA and FDA for fiscal 2026, and end a bitter legal battle over this month's SNAP benefits. 

The measure, approved by the House 222-209 Wednesday night after passing the Senate on Monday, also extends farm bill programs whose authorization expired Sept. 30, including the Conservation Reserve Program.

Six Democrats crossed party lines to support the bill; two Republicans opposed it.

By getting full-year funding in the legislation, USDA and FDA are effectively insulated from any further shutdowns until the fiscal year ends next Sept. 30. Three annual appropriations bills were wrapped into the legislation – Agriculture, which funds USDA and FDA; Legislative Branch, which funds congressional operations, and Military Construction-VA, which funds the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects.

The bill “delivers on our promise to our veterans, our farmers and our taxpayers,” said Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.

November SNAP benefits have been up in the air since the beginning of the month. The Trump administration fought all the way to the Supreme Court to keep from having to pay full benefits while the shutdown was ongoing.

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A USDA spokesperson said Wednesday evening that once the government reopens, “most states” will receive funds within 24 hours.

Following a federal judge’s order last week requiring USDA to provide full benefits to the states that administer SNAP, and also relying on USDA guidance, more than a dozen states went ahead and processed full payments for residents.

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“Once the shutdown ends, USDA has to release the full benefits, which we hope they will do immediately,” says Colleen Barton of the Food Research & Action Center. “Then, it is really going to vary based on states. People could start to receive their benefits quickly, in a few days, or even a week depending on the state.”

According to a FRAC tracker, 16 states had started providing full benefits as of Wednesday. Most others were providing partial benefits, but a handful had suspended any payments.

What drama there was in the House on Wednesday was focused on a provision added by the Senate that would allow senators to sue over an investigation of their phone records related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. “It’s an outrageous giveaway to pad the pockets of eight Republicans,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “It's one of the most corrupt things I've seen in my life.”

Some Republicans expressed concern about the provision as well but opposed stripping it form the bill, since a House-amended bill would have to return to the Senate for approval.  

Republicans chided Democrats for prolonging the shutdown with their demand that the bill include an extension of expiring premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance policies.

Senate GOP leaders promised Democrats they will get a vote on the issue in December, and the Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on health care costs. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has given no assurance that the House will consider action on ACA premium subsidies.

Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., said many patients who rely on ACA policies face an “imminent skyrocketing of health care costs.”  But Bishop, who is the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, welcomed the inclusion of the USDA-FDA funding, which he said provided “many welcome investments.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., chided Democrats for opposing the spending measure, saying the shutdown had “caused real suffering for American families. … Let’s get this government back open.”

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