Dec. 3, 2025, 6:13 p.m. ET
The Trump administration will withhold certain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding from nearly two dozen states led by Democrats if they don’t provide personal information about the nutrition program’s recipients, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Rollins said in the televised meeting that money supplied by the federal government would be withheld starting next week from states that did not comply with the federal government’s requests. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) later clarified that only funds sent to assist with the administrative costs of the program, which are split between the agriculture department and states, would be withheld, not money for benefits themselves.
Twenty-nine Republican-led states had already sent the requested personal data, which includes immigration status and Social Security numbers, while 21 Democratic-led states had not, Rollins said. The USDA revised those numbers in a Dec. 3 statement sent to USA TODAY, which said 28 states and Guam had supplied the information, while 22 “blue states,” including California, New York and Minnesota, had not.
The information is necessary, says the USDA, to “root out” what Rollins has repeatedly characterized as widespread “fraud,” without evidence. The USDA has declined multiple requests from USA TODAY to share more information about these claims
“So as of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply and they tell us and allow us to partner with them to root out this fraud and to protect the American taxpayer,” Rollins said Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Demands for SNAP data previously blocked by federal judge
The request for sensitive data on recipients of SNAP, which supports nearly 42 million Americans, was first issued in February before being challenged in court by 22 states plus Washington, DC. The order was blocked by a California federal judge in October, who temporarily barred the federal government from collecting the information or withholding funds from states that don’t provide it.
The USDA has until Dec. 15 to appeal the decision, though the judge already said the court would not temporarily pause its injunction in the case of an appeal. The USDA declined to answer questions about an appeal or its compliance with the order.
The USDA also told USA TODAY it had formed a “SNAP integrity team” to review the data to end alleged “indiscriminate welfare fraud.” An April 7 report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service described SNAP fraud as “rare,” saying available data and reports show a large number of overpayments can be attributed to unintentional errors.
“We have sent Democrat States yet another request for data, and if they fail to comply, they will be provided with formal warning that USDA will pull their administrative funds,” the USDA said in a statement on Dec. 3.
States challenging the demand have cited privacy concerns, calling it another attempt “to amass enormous troves of personal and private data … to advance goals that have nothing to do with combating waste, fraud, or abuse in federal benefit programs” in the earlier lawsuit.
SNAP requirements in the spotlight
The nation’s largest nutrition assistance program was a flashpoint during the 43-day government shutdown, leading to unprecedented disruptions in payments and a litany of court rulings. The spending package that ended the shutdown on Nov. 12 restored full funding to the USDA, which oversees SNAP, after benefits were withheld for the first time in the program’s history in November.
The Trump administration has repeatedly promised to overhaul the program. In November, Rollins said the USDA would make every recipient “reapply” to continue receiving benefits, though the agency later told USA TODAY it would use the “standard recertification processes for households” that already exist. Currently, recipients must recertify regularly to maintain eligibility, and approved recipients are given a finite timeline to access their benefits.
Trump’s massive tax and spending legislation that he dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill” cut an estimated $186 billion from SNAP funding through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It also added new restrictions to the program, including expanding work requirements, such as raising the age people must work to 65 from 55 and removing work exemptions for veterans, people who recently aged out of foster care and unhoused people.
States are also now responsible for up to 15% of benefit costs, depending on the payment error rate, and are set to see increased administrative costs.
