A federal judge in Minnesota on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from freezing funding for food stamps and other hunger relief programs in the state.
Judge Laura M. Provinzino, of the United States District Court in Minnesota, wrote in a 50-page ruling that the Agriculture Department’s decision to withhold federal funding for food assistance programs was “without any reasoned explanation” and “haphazard.” She issued a preliminary injunction while litigation on the case continues.
The temporary reprieve for Minnesota comes at a time of heightened tension between the state and the Trump administration.
The administration has sent thousands of immigration agents to the streets of Minneapolis, leveled fraud allegations and hurled insults at top state officials, and tried to freeze funding for other social services. For Minnesota’s part, top state officials have called for the federal agents to withdraw from the state, and protesters in Minneapolis have at times clashed with immigration agents.
Since mid-December, the Agriculture Department and Minnesota had been tangling over food stamps. In a letter on Dec. 16, Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, sent a letter to the state requiring that it recertify many food stamp recipients. Minnesota responded a week later with a lawsuit.
On Jan. 9, the same day a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from withholding billions in social services funding for Minnesota and four other Democratic-led states, the Agriculture Department announced it would withhold over $129 million in federal funding from Minnesota for food stamps and other programs.
In a letter posted on social media, Ms. Rollins justified the frozen funds, citing unfolding investigations of fraud in Minnesota’s social safety net that have involved members of the Somali American community.
The Trump administration previously tried to exert leverage on Democratic lawmakers by withholding nutrition benefits. During last year’s government shutdown, the administration halted food stamp payments to pressure Democratic lawmakers to vote to reopen the government. Despite having ample leftover funds to fully disburse the payments, Mr. Trump and his aides repeatedly appealed court orders to continue withholding the funds.
Adam Sella covers breaking news for The Times in Washington.
The post Court Blocks Trump Administration From Freezing Food Stamps in Minnesota appeared first on New York Times.
