The Trump administration will pause aid for Democrat-led states that don't provide the government with identifying information about SNAP recipients, such as immigration status, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday.
Why it matters: If the administration goes through with the threat, millions of Americans could lose their SNAP benefits, sometimes known as food stamps, just over a month after recipients were put in limbo during the longest-ever government shutdown.
Driving the news: Rollins said her department asked all states "to turn over their data" to the federal government in February so that USDA and state agencies could "root out" any fraud in the system.
- Rollins said Republican-led states complied and those records helped the administration determine examples of food stamp fraud, but Democrat-run states including California, New York and Minnesota "continue to say no."
- It was not clear from Rollins remarks if the administration had proof of fraud prior to requesting the data and USDA representatives did not immediately respond to Axios' request to clarify this.
What they're saying: Rollins slammed Democrats for not doing more to tackle "rampant fraud" in the SNAP program on Tuesday during the president's ninth cabinet meeting of the year.
- "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," she said.
- When asked for clarification, the USDA told Axios in an emailed statement that they 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 department also alleged that non-compliant states were choosing to "protect illegals, criminals, and bad actors over the American taxpayer."
By the numbers: Roughly 800,000 of the 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps have moved off the program since Trump retook office, according to Rollins.
- However, Rollins claimed that of the recipients still receiving benefits, the department identified various examples of fraud, including dead people still receiving dollars and some social security numbers being registered to receive money in more than one state.
- Axios was not able to immediately verify Rollins' specific fraud claims, but the Government Accountability Office has estimated that states have replaced more than $320 million in stolen benefits between October 2022 and December 2024.
- GAO notes that not all victims of benefit theft know they could have been reimbursed, so the actual dollar amount could be higher.
Catch up quick: SNAP benefits rarely dominate political discourse, but the Trump administration's unprecedented decision to cut off benefits for millions of Americans during the government shutdown has pushed the program into the spotlight.
- The freeze was particularly consequential as most beneficiaries are senior citizens and children, and most need their funds immediately because they use the totality of their allotted dollars within the month the money is dispersed.
- The administration eventually released all benefits once the shutdown ended, after filing appeal after appeal to avoid having to pay recipients money.
Zoom out: The Trump administration has systematically frozen federal funds to coerce Democratic-run cities — particularly those run by Black politicians — to comply with the president's demands.
- That included freezing roughly $18 billion for two infrastructure projects in New York City in October.
- And some $2.1 billion in Department of Transportation funding for the Chicago transit system was paused as well.
Go deeper: The food crisis is here
