Kansas attorney general sues governor over SNAP dispute

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is taking aim at Democratic Governor Laura Kelly this week with a major lawsuit.

Kobach announced on Sept. 8 that he is suing Kelly and Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Laura Howard over their refusal to turn over data related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to the federal government. Kobach revealed Monday that he is asking a court to compel Kelly’s Administration to follow state and federal law to hand over the SNAP details.

“It’s ironic that the Governor would join a lawsuit to get a hypothetical amount of money for new grants for things like DEI and food justice, but she’s willing to sacrifice $10.4 million for Kansas’s most vulnerable citizens that the state will definitely lose immediately if she doesn’t supply information to the federal government,” Kobach said.

Kobach was joined by fellow Republicans Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins and Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi as he made the announcement. The more than 130-page lawsuit demands that Kelly and Howard comply with a July 23 request from the Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNS) section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to hand over SNAP data related to its users in Kansas.

Kelly and Howard refused to comply with the request, stating in August that it would place the personal details of around 730,000 Kansans at risk. Republican leadership, like Hawkins, accused Kelly of covering up “waste, fraud and, and abuse” in the refusal to turn over the SNAP information and putting Kansas at risk of losing more than $10 million in SNAP funding.

Kelly issued a new statement on Sept. 8 in response to Kobach’s lawsuit which can be read below:

“Attorney General Kobach and Speaker Hawkins are engaging in what can only be described as low-rent political theater. We learned last week that the Attorney General made vague statements about suing me in Alaska. My Chief of Staff made requests to both the Attorney General and Speaker for meetings to discuss this issue on Friday, and both declined to meet. Now, in a rushed press conference rife with false statements and incorrect law, we learn there is going to be a lawsuit filed. A copy of which my office has yet to receive.

The Attorney General is known for not doing his homework or placing priority on protecting Kansans’ private data. I have always worked to protect Kansans, especially from federal overreach, and I will continue to do so.”
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly

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