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One of the nation’s largest social safety net programs could see major changes as President Donald Trump looks to fund his agenda. And, it’s most popular in red states.
With a majority in Congress and support from the West Wing, GOP leaders will decide future funding for a slew of federal programs, including food stamps. House Republicans proposed at least $230 billion in cuts to federal nutrition programs like SNAP — which nearly 42 million Americans rely on to afford food — over the next decade.
The most significant policy change the House Agriculture Committee has suggested would require nondisabled adults without dependents to fulfill work requirements until they reach age 64 to qualify for aid, up from the current cutoff age of 54.
Some Republicans have defended the proposal, saying that it supports Trump’s goal of reducing waste in government spending. It’s unclear if the budget cuts would reduce the monthly grocery benefits that households receive. Still, advocates say less funding and stricter work requirements would make it more difficult for millions of families to put meals on the table alongside high grocery prices.
In an X post, the House Committee on Agriculture wrote on Monday that “Our budget reconciliation text restores SNAP to its original intent —promoting work, not welfare — while saving taxpayer dollars and investing in American agriculture.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told BI that “President Trump and Republicans are strengthening SNAP so it can be sustainable for generations to come.” She said the proposal will prevent “waste and exploitation,” encourage states to share nutrition program costs with the federal government, and “restore commonsense Clinton-era work requirements.”
The House will continue discussions on the bill and vote ahead of Speaker Mike Johnson’s Memorial Day deadline.
Republican states could feel the brunt of SNAP cuts
Scaling back SNAP could have real consequences for low-income households. While the money can’t be used to buy household goods, it can be a parachute for families who need support affording produce, protein, and other grocery essentials. Monthly SNAP amounts can range from less than $25 to over $1,000, depending on a household’s income and number of members.
“We still have birthdays to celebrate,” Judith Murray, a parent who receives $1,174 in monthly SNAP for her seven-person family, previously told BI. “We still have Thanksgiving to do and other holidays. When you see me out there buying a birthday cake with my SNAP benefit card, just try to understand that I don’t want to let my little ones down any more than you do.”
Per data collected by the US Department of Agriculture, about 12% of Americans received SNAP benefits in 2024. In several states that voted for Trump and Republican representatives — like Louisiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Alabama — that enrollment figure rises up to nearly 19% of the state’s population.
This comes as Americans’ overall reliance on government aid is increasing. Per a 2024 report from the Economic Innovation Group, funds from programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and Social Security accounted for about 18% of total personal income in the US in 2022, a 9 percentage-point increase from 1970.
Of course, regional economic disparities aren’t new, and they don’t fall neatly along political lines. Some predominantly Democratic-voting states like Oregon and New Mexico have above-average rates of SNAP enrollment. Food insecurity also isn’t an isolated issue: states with high government aid use tend to have higher poverty rates, higher unemployment, and more limited healthcare access. Many of these financial disparities are long-standing and have a more severe impact on people of color or other marginalized communities.
SNAP also isn’t a perfect system. Americans with a low income have told BI that they lean on other resources like food banks because their SNAP allocation isn’t enough to pay their grocery bills. Others limit their work hours to ensure their income doesn’t exceed the program’s qualification threshold — which is around $15,000 annually for a single person, but varies slightly by state.
As congressional leaders move toward a vote this month, government data shows that Republicans’ constituents will feel the brunt of any SNAP changes more than other political parties. A group of eight GOP representatives led by Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales penned a letter to Speaker Johnson in February, urging the party leader to advocate for “programs that support working-class Americans.”
“While we fully support efforts to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, we must ensure that assistance programs — such as SNAP — remain protected,” they wrote.
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