United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has threatened to revoke federal funds from Democratic states that are currently fighting an order to surrender data about food assistance recipients.
On Tuesday, during the last cabinet meeting of the year, Rollins spoke about the ongoing lawsuit, which pits 21 states and the District of Columbia against the administration of US President Donald Trump.
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Under Trump, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has demanded that states hand over identifying information about recipients who benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Sometimes called food stamps, SNAP helps low-income households afford groceries. Nearly 41.7 million people relied on the programme as of fiscal year 2024, a number that represents nearly 12 percent of US residents.
The USDA’s order would require states to pass along information like Social Security numbers, birth dates and home addresses to federal authorities. Critics fear that such a data transfer could constitute an invasion of privacy.
Rollins, however, told the cabinet meeting that the information was needed to address alleged fraud and “protect the American taxpayer”.
“ We asked for all the states, for the first time, to turn over their data to the federal government to let the USDA partner with them to root out this fraud, to make sure that those who really need food stamps are getting them,” she said.
She indicated that resistance to her demand was a question of partisan politics.
“ Twenty-nine states said yes. Not surprisingly, the red states. And that’s where all of that data [about] fraud comes from,” Rollins continued. “But 21 states including California, New York and Minnesota — the blue states — continue to say no.”
As a result, those Democratic-leaning states would no longer be receiving federal support for their SNAP recipients, according to Rollins.
“So as of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply,” she said.
An ongoing legal question
It is unclear whether Rollins will be able to carry out her threat.
In September, a US district court in northern California issued a temporary restraining order preventing the federal government from enforcing its data request. In October, another hearing was held on the issue, and a temporary injunction was again granted.
“Let’s be crystal clear: The President is trying to hijack a nutrition program to fuel his mass surveillance agenda,” California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement after the October ruling.
“We won’t let that happen — not on our watch, and not in our communities.”
Tuesday’s announcement that the states involved in the lawsuit would see a suspension of federal SNAP funds was met with outrage by some top Democratic leaders.
“Genuine question: Why is the Trump Administration so hellbent on people going hungry?” New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted on social media, with a link to Rollins’s remarks.
The Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee also released a statement, denouncing the Trump administration’s plan.
“Yet again, Trump and Rollins are illegally threatening to withhold federal dollars. SNAP has one of the lowest fraud rates of any government program, but Trump continues to weaponize hunger,” the statement said.
But Rollins struck back on social media, accusing the states of seeking to protect “their bribery schemes”, an allegation made without proof.
“NO DATA, NO MONEY — it’s that simple,” she wrote. “If a state won’t share data on criminal use of SNAP benefits, it won’t get a dollar of federal SNAP administrative funding.”
Leveraging SNAP?
Last year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report stating that 11.7 percent of SNAP benefits dispersed in fiscal year 2023 were “improper”. This amounted to about $10.5bn in incorrect payments.
But some of those “improper” disbursements were overpayments and underpayments to legitimate recipients, the report explained.
Tuesday’s threat was also not the first time the Trump administration has sought to suspend SNAP funds.
During this year’s government shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days, the USDA announced it would not pay SNAP benefits for the month of November.
Critics accused the Trump administration of leveraging food assistance to pressure Democratic lawmakers to pass a Republican-approved budget, and dozens of states sued.
Two federal courts sided with the states, ordering the federal government to resume its funding. The Trump administration then appealed to the Supreme Court, which placed a hold on the lower courts’ rulings.
The impasse ultimately ended when the government shutdown came to a close on November 12.
