Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) signage at a grocery store in Dorchester, Massachusetts, US, on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. Photographer: Mel Musto/ Bloomberg via Getty Images
A federal judge on Friday halted an effort by the Trump administration to force states to comply with certain conditions to get funding to SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Here’s what to know about the development:
Trump SNAP restrictions
The backstory:
The Trump administration was proposing to force states to comply with a range of conditions to get billions of dollars in SNAP funding.
Among them are restrictions related to “gender ideology,” “immigration,” and “fair athletic opportunities” for women and girls, The Associated Press reported.
Dig deeper:
Twenty Democratic states filed a lawsuit arguing the Agriculture Department has “thrown unconstitutional and unlawful roadblocks between the programs created by Congress and the States that rely on them, threatening critical nutrition support, vital agricultural research, and the safety of our national food chain and communities.”
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Presently:
A federal judge sided with the states on Friday and halted the Trump administration’s effort.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun granted a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit challenging the conditions for getting SNAP funding.
The other side:
Lawyers for the government opposed the preliminary injunction, arguing in their court filing that “these new requirements would help promote the sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars, strengthen USDA’s control and oversight of obligated funds, and ensure that grant recipients comply with federal laws, regulations, and policies.”
What is SNAP?
Big picture view:
SNAP is a federal food assistance program that helps about 39 million Americans, or 1 in 9, buy groceries.
READ MORE: Nearly 4.3 million Americans lost SNAP benefits last year
Dig deeper:
Beneficiaries decreased by nearly 4.3 million from January 2025 to January 2026, according to preliminary government data released by the Agriculture Department. Experts say new requirements mandated by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last summer are the primary reasons.
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