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Trump Administration to Withhold SNAP Administrative Funds from Democratic-Led States in Data Dispute

The Trump administration has said it will withhold federal SNAP administrative payments from Democratic-led states next week unless they provide requested recipient data, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced. Democratic officials call requests for immigration status and Social Security numbers a privacy violation, while the USDA says the data are needed to detect fraud. Governors from 22 states and D.C. sued the USDA, and a judge ruled in October that funding cannot be denied solely for noncompliance; the agency says 28 states have provided data. Nearly 42 million people receive SNAP benefits.

04:59 AM, 12/03/2025Politics
Trump Administration to Withhold SNAP Administrative Funds from Democratic-Led States in Data Dispute

By Leah Douglas

The Trump administration says it will pause federal payments that help states administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to Democratic-led states next week unless those states provide detailed recipient data, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.

State and federal Democratic officials have pushed back against a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) request for information that would include immigration status and Social Security numbers for SNAP recipients, arguing the demand is an unlawful invasion of privacy. The USDA says the data are necessary to detect and prevent fraud among benefit recipients.

"As of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply," Rollins said at a White House Cabinet meeting. She later posted on X: "If a state won’t share data on criminal use of SNAP benefits, it won’t get a dollar of federal SNAP administrative funding."

While SNAP benefit payments come from the federal government, states operate the program and maintain beneficiary records. The USDA and states share administrative costs. The administration's fiscal package—referred to by its backers as the "One Big Beautiful Bill"—is expected over time to shift a larger share of administrative costs and some benefit expenses onto states.

Legal fight and compliance so far

In July, the Democratic governors of 22 states and the District of Columbia sued the USDA to block the data demand. In October, a federal judge ruled that the USDA could not withhold SNAP funding from states solely for their failure to submit the requested data.

According to a November letter from the USDA filed in court documents, 28 states have submitted the requested data so far.

Nearly 42 million Americans receive SNAP benefits, making the dispute consequential for program administration and beneficiaries across the country.

The USDA did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.

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