Judge sides with Minnesota, blocks USDA from cutting off SNAP funding

A district court judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from ceasing payments to Minnesota for federal food assistance unless the state recertified all households receiving SNAP benefits.

Last month, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins gave Minnesota a 30-day deadline to conduct in-person interviews for more than 100,000 households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That deadline would have come around on Thursday.

In a lawsuit seeking to stop the impending funding freeze, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the demand “utterly impossible,” even with advance notice.

RELATED: Ellison sues USDA over threats to cut off Minnesota’s SNAP funding unless it complies with ‘impossible demands’

The preliminary injunction issued this week means roughly 440,000 Minnesotans will continue to receive their normal SNAP benefits, Ellison’s office said.

“We have won yet another battle in the Trump administration’s war on Minnesota,” Ellison said in a statement. “Before any of us in the state are Republicans or Democrats, we are Minnesotans, and it should shock and disgust us that this president is trying to take food off the table of half a million of our neighbors. I’m pleased to have stopped this from happening, and I will continue to do everything in my power to stand up to the Trump administration when they try to harm the people of Minnesota.”

RELATED: Minnesota repeatedly reported inaccurate data on SNAP to the federal government

In her December letter to Gov. Tim Walz, Secretary Rollins said the recertification push was necessary to root out fraudulent beneficiaries.

“More accurate certifications of eligibility for SNAP benefits will ensure that those in need receive assistance, raising levels of nutrition among low-income individuals,” Rollins wrote.

A USDA spokesperson said the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
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