Trump ‘took notes from the Grinch’: States sue over SNAP program changes

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (R) speaks as California Governor Gavin Newsom looks on during a news conference at Gemperle Orchard on April 16, 2025, in Ceres, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The attorneys general said Wednesday that thenew USDA guidancein question makes clear that “refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees, individuals whose deportation has been withheld, and other humanitarian entrants become eligible for SNAP once they obtain their green cards and meet standard program requirements.”

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters on a call Wednesday that the USDA guidance “blatantly misapplies the agency’s own regulations” for SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program that provides food aid to some 40 million Americans each month. 

While it is unclear how many individuals in each state would be affected, the attorneys general estimated the number would be well into the thousands, including more than 30,000 residents in New York alone.

The new guidance “misclassifies entire groups of lawfully present immigrants as ‘not eligible’ when the law says they are eligible once they become lawful permanent residents,”Bonta saidWednesday, describing the guidance as reading “like someone took notes from the Grinch.” 

STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER BILLIONS IN LOOMING CUTS TO SNAP, FOOD STAMPS

Vendors at a farmer’s market in Maryland accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) tokens via the SNAP benefit program. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The lawsuit asks a federal judge in Oregon to grant emergency relief and issue an order blocking the USDA guidance.It also warned that the patchwork system of benefits created as a result of the guidance “threatens to destabilize SNAP nationwide,” and risks financial harm, including penalties issued to states who do not comply with the guidance.

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The new USDA memo “attempts to rewrite those rules, ignoring Congress and threatening to cut off food assistance for people who are fully eligible under the law,” the attorneys general said Wednesday.

States also took aim at the USDA’s decision to publish the narrower guidance on Oct.31, four months after the spending bill was signed into law. 

SNAP beneficiaries have been outraged on social media by the government shutdown affecting their grocery perks starting next month,(Michael M.Santiago/Getty Images)

com/category/person/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news.She previously coverednational politicsat the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others.You can send tips to Breanne atBreanne.com, or follow her on X at@breanne_dep.