Politics
USDA Proposal Would Strip SNAP Benefits from 6.3 Million, End State Flexibility on Categorical Eligibility
A new USDA rule would end broad-based categorical eligibility, cutting food stamp benefits for roughly 6.3 million people and automatic free school meals for 1.8 million children. The agency says it closes a loophole; anti-hunger advocates say it punishes working families and adds red tape.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday proposed a rule that would end broad-based categorical eligibility, a policy that lets states streamline SNAP enrollment for people who receive other public assistance. According to the agency's own projections, the change would cause roughly 6.3 million low-income Americansânearly one in five SNAP enrolleesâto lose food stamp benefits in fiscal year 2029 because their income or resources exceed federal limits.
The proposal, published in the Federal Register, would also ripple through child nutrition programs. About 1.8 million children would no longer be automatically eligible for free school meals, though USDA said nearly all would still qualify for free or reduced-price meals if their families apply separately. An additional 16,500 pregnant women, mothers, infants, and children would have to apply for the WIC nutrition program, and 5,500 current participants would become ineligible.
USDA defended the move, saying broad-based categorical eligibility has "bloated the welfare rolls for decades" and allowed states to take shortcuts while error rates ballooned. The agency estimated the rule would reduce federal SNAP spending by nearly $45 billion and state spending by $5.2 billion over five years. "Correcting this loophole is long overdue," USDA said in a statement.
Anti-hunger advocates pushed back, warning that the new paperwork requirements would ensnare eligible participants and deter familiesâparticularly those with immigrant membersâfrom applying at all. "Instead of helping families, the administration is making life harder for them," said Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP policy and advocacy director at the Food Research & Action Center. "These are working families."
The proposed rule arrives as SNAP enrollment has fallen by more than 5 million people, including an estimated 2 million children, since President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Advocates attribute the drop to stricter state eligibility reviews and other provisions in the package.
Ali Hard, policy director at the National WIC Association, noted that USDA stopped measuring food insecurity last year, making it harder to track Americans' ability to feed their families. The Trump administration proposed a similar rule ending broad-based categorical eligibility in 2019, but the Biden administration withdrew it in 2021.