A federal court has issued a new order preventing the Trump Administration from cutting off funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to states that do not provide personal data of SNAP applicants and recipients. The decision, announced by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, came from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Last year, Attorney General Campbell joined a coalition in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. The lawsuit argued that requiring states to turn over sensitive SNAP data violated federal law. The District Court previously found that this demand was likely unlawful because the administration had indicated it might use or disclose the information for purposes unrelated to administering federal benefits programs, and granted a preliminary injunction.
The dispute continued when the Trump Administration again threatened to withhold administrative funding unless states complied with a new data and security protocol proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In its latest ruling, the District Court determined that USDA cannot collect state records without an agreed-upon protocol and found USDA’s proposed protocol unlawful because it would allow sharing of state data with entities not involved in administering federal benefits programs.
“Today, the court once again made clear that the Trump Administration cannot punish states that refuse to help fuel its cruel immigration agenda by violating the privacy of vulnerable children and families trying to make ends meet,” said AG Campbell. “Using hunger as a political weapon is unacceptable, and I will continue fighting to ensure that the federal government complies with federal laws so that families can feed their children without having their privacy violated or fearing that accessing benefits will lead to ICE at their doorstep.”
SNAP provides food assistance funded by the federal government but administered by states. Applicants are required to provide private information under assurances protected by law that their details will not be used for other purposes. The Trump Administration has repeatedly threatened to cut off administrative funding if states do not comply with its requests for additional data.
Attorney General Campbell has previously challenged actions affecting SNAP recipients, including suing USDA during a government shutdown to secure funding for November benefits and contesting guidance that excluded certain legally residing non-citizens from eligibility. Following legal action in November 2025, USDA revised its guidance on eligibility requirements.
