Trump Administration Sued Over SNAP Benefits Move

A coalition of 20 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Trump administration, seeking to block a data request that would require states to turn over private information about millions of low-income Americans receiving food assistance.

Under a directive issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), states have been ordered to share private recipient and applicant information relating to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries with the federal government. Attorneys general across 19 states and Washington, D.C., have said they will not comply with the USDA’s request, citing concerns over its legality and SNAP recipients’ privacy.

Newsweek contacted the USDA for comment via email outside regular working hours.

Why It Matters

The USDA, which oversees SNAP, first announced this data push in May as part of President Donald Trump‘s executive order to increase data sharing across federal and state programs.

The USDA issued the directive last week, giving states a deadline of July 30 to comply. The requested data includes information such as names, dates of birth, personal addresses and Social Security numbers—data that state officials argue is protected under existing privacy laws.

According to the USDA, the goal of the data collection is to help root out fraud in the program, which currently serves some 42 million people nationwide.

What To Know

States attorneys general involved in the legal challenge—including New York’s Letitia James and California’s Rob Bonta—say the request violates federal privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution. They also cite concerns that the information could be used to facilitate immigration enforcement.

The USDA directive does not mention immigration enforcement as a reason for data collection.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction blocking the transfer of SNAP recipient data. It also seeks a ruling that prohibits the administration from sharing the requested information with the Department of Government Efficiency or the Department of Homeland Security for any purpose beyond administering the SNAP program.

The legal action comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to access private data from various federal and state programs. Agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have been directed to share personal information with immigration authorities in recent months.

Prior to the directive issued last week, the USDA said it would pause data collection after its original request on May 6 was met with a motion for a temporary restraining order filed by a group of nonprofits and SNAP beneficiaries. The group argued that the demand violated the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Privacy Act and other statutes.

At the time, a USDA spokesperson told Newsweek, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”

Which States Are Involved?

The attorneys general of the following states and the District of Columbia have signed on to the lawsuit:

Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Hawaii
Illinois
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
Oregon
Rhode Island
Washington
Wisconsin

The office of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is also a plaintiff in the case.

What People Are Saying

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a Monday news conference regarding the lawsuit: “We will not allow this lifesaving program to be illegally used to hunt down immigrants and their families.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said: “It’s a bait-and-switch of the worst kind. SNAP recipients provided this information to get help feeding their families, not to be entered into a government surveillance database or be used as targets in the president’s inhumane immigration agenda.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a May 6 news release announcing the data-sharing plans: “President Trump is rightfully requiring the federal government to have access to all programs it funds, and SNAP is no exception. For years, this program has been on autopilot, with no USDA insight into real-time data. The Department is focused on appropriate and lawful participation in SNAP, and today’s request is one of many steps to ensure SNAP is preserved for only those eligible.”