Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday that the Trump administration will start withholding some federal agriculture funds from Democrat-led states that refuse to turn over detailed data on people receiving food aid.
Rollins, speaking during a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, said the Agriculture Department requested Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program records from all 50 states in February to root out fraud and protect taxpayers.
She said 29 Republican-led states have provided the information, while 21 Democrat-led states "continue to say no."
Rollins said the administration will "begin to stop moving federal funds into those states" next week until they comply.
A USDA statement later said "28 states and Guam joined us in this fight," but said that "states like California, New York, and Minnesota, among 19 other blue states" have resisted.
The department did not immediately explain the difference between the tallies offered by Rollins and in the statement.
The standoff is the latest fight over data-sharing demands tied to SNAP, the nation's largest anti-hunger program. About 1 in 8 Americans receive SNAP benefits each month, according to federal data.
Administration officials say they need state data, including personally identifying information, to detect improper payments and ineligible recipients.
Democrat officials and privacy advocates have raised concerns about collecting sensitive information, including immigration-related details, and argue the demand exceeds federal authority.
A group of Democrat-led states has sued the administration over related SNAP directives, and state officials have signaled more legal challenges if funding is cut.
The USDA said it has sent another request for the data. States that do not comply will receive a formal warning that the department will withhold administrative funds used to run the program.
It was not immediately clear which funding streams would be affected or how quickly states would feel the impact.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.