Trump's second bite: The administration moves to cut 6.3 million people from food stamps.
The Trump administration is at it again—and this time, the target is a bureaucratic loophole with a very human cost. The USDA has scrapped a proposed rule that would have effectively eliminated food assistance from about 6.3 million people, or about one in five SNAP enrollees, by closing a track known as "broad-based categorical eligibility." Here's how it works: For years, states have allowed households to automatically qualify for SNAP if they already receive non-cash benefits through TANF — things like child care assistance or workforce training — without making them jump through separate SNAPs between income and assets. Forty-six states, both red and blue, have used this option because it saves everyone time and paperwork. The new rule would slam that door, limiting automatic eligibility to only families receiving cold, hard cash from TANF.
According to the administration's own regulatory analysis, 3.2 million households would lose benefits entirely by fiscal year 2029, when SNAP benefits were cut by $50.8 billion. And because SNAP enrollment is used to streamline access to other programs, 1.78 million children will lose automatic eligibility for free school meals — 93,000 moved to reduced-price meals, 28,000 will be forced to pay full price — while 42,000 children will lose their summer EBT benefits starting at 5,500 and children will switch to 5,500, and children will pass WIC. The Ministry of Agriculture, for its part, does not apologize, saying that the loophole "inflated welfare fees for decades" and that "this correction is long overdue."
But here's the thing: it doesn't happen in a vacuum. He lands a few months after one big and beautiful law -. Trump's signature reconciliation law — has already pulled SNAP benefits from about 5.5 million people, including about 2 million children, through expanded work requirements and shifting costs to states.