Below is a summary of the notable FOIA court decisions and news from last month, as well as a look ahead to FOIA events in November.
Court opinions
We posted and summarized 11 opinions in November, the second lowest of the year to date (8 in May). Of note, the Second Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling in Shapiro v. SSA (Nov. 26) and held that the FOIA’s limitation on fees for untimely agency responses was clearly overridden by the “notwithstanding” text of the Social Security Act’s cost-reimbursement provision, 42 U.S.C § 1306(c) (“Notwithstanding sections 552 and 552a of title 5 or any other provision of law . . . .”).
Top news
The 43-day government shutdown ended on November 12, 2025.
In late November, DOJ announced that 37-year-old Sean Glendening had been appointed the new Director of the Office of Information Policy on November 3rd.
On November 20, 2025, Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) introduced a bill to create a FOIA exemption for information that tribes identify as culturally sensitive.
The Defense Nuclear Safety Board became the first agency in 2025 to propose amendments to its FOIA regulations, as set forth in a November 24th Federal Register notice.
December calendar
Dec. 2: DOJ/OIP’s Virtual Procedural Requirements and Fees Training.
Dec. 4: FOIA Advisory Committee meeting canceled (and not expected to be re-scheduled).
Dec. 10: DOJ/OIP’s Virtual Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training.
Dec. 12: Deadline for agencies to submit FY 2025 Annual FOIA Report to OIP.
Dec. 15: Chief FOIA Officers Council meeting; Immigrant Legal Resource Center FOIA webinar.