Politics
USDA Proposal Would Strip SNAP Benefits From 6.3 Million, Including 1.8 Million Children
A proposed USDA rule would end automatic SNAP eligibility for families already enrolled in TANF, cutting food assistance for roughly 6.3 million people â about 18% of recipients â and free school meals for 1.8 million children. The move follows 5.5 million SNAP losses since the 2025 tax law took effect.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule that would end automatic Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility for families already receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a change the agency estimates would remove roughly 6.3 million people â nearly 18% of all SNAP recipients â from the food assistance rolls.
The proposal targets what the USDA calls "broad-based categorical eligibility," a long-standing policy under which states grant SNAP access to families who qualify for TANF or similar programs because the two programs' income and asset tests are similar. Under the new rule, those families would have to apply for SNAP separately and meet federal SNAP-specific limits.
In its proposal, the USDA said the change would "preserve benefits for the truly needy." In a statement, the agency argued that categorical eligibility "has bloated the welfare rolls for decades," allowing states to "take short cuts" and letting households with income and assets "far above federal limits" access benefits. "Correcting this loophole is long overdue," the department said.
The agency also stressed that SNAP is an appropriated entitlement, meaning total funding is not capped and eligible families would still receive benefits. "Funding for SNAP has not been decreased," the statement said, adding that enrollment shifts reflect a range of external forces rather than any single policy.
The proposed cut would land on top of existing reductions. Since the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" took effect in July 2025, about 5.5 million people have already lost SNAP benefits as the tax law reshaped eligibility rules. According to Reuters, the USDA estimates that if the new rule is finalized, 1.8 million children would also lose eligibility for free school lunches.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has previously attributed the earlier enrollment declines to fraud and to a strong economy. There is no evidence supporting claims of widespread fraud in the program, and analysts note that a strong economy does not ease the burden for SNAP participants who are already facing financial hardship.
Critics on Capitol Hill condemned the proposal. "This move by the Trump administration to take food assistance away from millions more elderly Americans and children is heartless and cruel," Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement. "The proposed rule would make it harder to meet basic needs and roll back efforts to streamline federal programs. SNAP is a highly effective and efficient program when it is allowed to work as designed."
The public will have 30 days to comment on the proposed rule before the agency can move toward finalizing it. For local families who rely on both TANF and SNAP to cover groceries, the change could mean new paperwork, new income tests and, for many, a gap in benefits â with school meal eligibility for their children hanging in the balance.