Despite the legal and Congressional battles in the midst of the government shutdown over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) forged ahead with its plans to root out waste, fraud, and abuse from the program.
As my colleague streiff ably explained:
SNAP is the nation's primary way of providing nutrition assistance to people living at or below the poverty line. It serves approximately 42 million people in 22.4 million households. For those challenged by numbers, that means about one in eight Americans, and about one in six households, use SNAP. About 39 percent of the recipients are children, about 10 percent are disabled between 18 and 59, and another 20 percent are elderly.
The federal government spent $100.3 billion on SNAP in Fiscal Year 2024. Of that sum, about $7 billion went to the states to administer the program. SNAP benefits for FY2024 were about $6 per day per person in a household. The TikTok videos you saw during the shutdown of SNAP recipients with several thousand dollars available on their EBT card are either faked for clout or they are proof of a criminal conspiracy.
The government shutdown provided the perfect opportunity for Rollins to find more ways to claw back the excesses allowed by the Biden administration. At Tuesday's presidential cabinet meeting, Rollins detailed how she planned to forge ahead on combating SNAP fraud.
WATCH:
NO DATA, NO MONEY — it’s that simple.
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) December 2, 2025
If a state won’t share data on criminal use of SNAP benefits, it won’t get a dollar of federal SNAP administrative funding.
Let’s see which states stand for accountability and which are just protecting their bribery schemes. 🤔💸 pic.twitter.com/Y1UXXDOoao
Rollins reported to the president and the cabinet:
In February of this year we asked for all of the states, for the first time, to turn over their data to the federal government. To let the USDA partner with them to root out this fraud, to make sure that those who really need food stamps are getting them, but also to ensure the American taxpayer is protected. Twenty-one states said yes... 29 states said yes — not surprising the red states — and that's where all of that data of that fraud comes from. But 21 states, including California, New York, and Minnesota — the blue states — continue to say, "No." 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.
As Joe Biden was working to buy an election a year ago, he increased food stamp program funding by 40 percent, so, now we continue to roll that back.
Read More: Food Stamp Theft: Now Up to 226K Fraudulent Claims Nationwide
Changes Push Millions Off SNAP Even As USDA Secretary Rollins Looks to Bigger Cuts
This should not be hard to understand. As opposed to say, tariffs, if anything, cleaning up SNAP is one of the more straightforward reforms that's been implemented by the Trump administration, with clear and tangible reasons supporting it. The goal is twofold: so that the SNAP program can be a resource for those truly in need of it, and that the USDA is accountable for the funds supplied by the American taxpayer.
Yet, legacy media continues to question the legitimacy of USDA requiring oversight.
The Trump administration plans to block Democratic-controlled states from accessing billions of dollars they need to run their food stamp programs unless governors turn over benefits rolls to federal officials, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday.
In May, Rollins ordered states to submit information on enrollees of SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, so administration officials could verify the eligibility of the more than 42 million monthly participants. It’s unclear if Rollins has the authority to demand that data, and the request could violate recipients’ privacy rights.
The program is funded largely by the federal government and administered by states. The federal government pays for benefits and for 50 percent of administrative costs, and states pay the other half.
As of Tuesday, 29 states and territories had provided that data, Rollins said at a White House Cabinet meeting. Democratic-controlled states, including New York and California, have refused.
"The federal government pays for benefits," not the states. Therefore, what the government gives, the government can also take away. To no one's surprise, Democrats like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul project the USDA's actions in the worst possible light.
Genuine question: Why is the Trump Administration so hellbent on people going hungry? https://t.co/UNRcJUlpwe
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) December 2, 2025
Let's rephrase: Why is the Hochul administration so hellbent on keeping able-bodied individuals and illegal aliens on the SNAP rolls, preventing people who are truly in need from accessing its benefits?
Dive Deeper: Oh, SNAP! After Government Shutdown and Benefit Fraud Revelations, Sec. Rollins Signals Program Overhaul
New Welfare Wake-Up Call: Rollins Slams Corrupt SNAP System
In its statement to The Post, USDA claimed baselessly that states that refuse to turn in their constituents’ data are choosing to “protect illegals, criminals, and bad actors over the American taxpayer.” While Rollins and other Trump administration officials have claimed that SNAP is rife with fraud, experts have said that fraud in the program is minimal.
Yet again, Trump and Rollins are illegally threatening to withhold federal dollars. SNAP has one of the lowest fraud rates of any government program, but Trump continues to weaponize hunger. pic.twitter.com/dtwQcyk03N
— House Agriculture Committee Democrats (@HouseAgDems) December 2, 2025
Democrats and the media can keep telling themselves that this is all weaponization and hysteria; however, after the decades-long fraud being uncovered in Minnesota, perpetrated by the Somali community, it is safe to say that Americans have reached the end of their tether. We are less inclined to tread delicately in cleaning out corruption, and more inclined to watch the house burn down to remove the rot.
As Rollins implements the USDA's plans, we will see which state feels the heat the most.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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