The Trump administration’s promised overhaul of the nation’s largest food aid program will rely on existing policies rather than forcing people to reapply for benefits, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss the plans.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said last week that millions of Americans would have to reapply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as part of an effort to root out alleged fraud, but USDA is now clarifying that it will use current verification processes.
State and local SNAP administrators will continue to recertify participants’ work history, income and other personal information as often as every six months to ensure they’re eligible for benefits.
“Rates of fraud were only previously assumed, and President [Donald] Trump is doing something about it. Using standard recertification processes for households is a part of that work,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. “As well as ongoing analysis of State data, further regulatory work, and improved collaboration with States.”
Rollins’ previous comments created another layer of uncertainty for local officials who were attempting to return their program operations to normal after the 43-day government shutdown. Neither she nor USDA at the time clarified the timeline for reapplication and how it would differ from current state requirements.
The closure, which halted SNAP funding for the first time in the program’s history, prompted conservative commentators and administration officials to complain about how much the government spends on the food aid program — and claim that it’s serving people who don’t actually need the help.
“An unintended consequence of the Democrats shutting the government down for 43 days is it shined this very bright light on one of their pet programs and now has given us a platform to completely deconstruct the program,” Rollins said in a Fox Business interview Tuesday.
Republicans passed a major SNAP overhaul in July that slashes the program’s spending by billions of dollars over the next decade, imposes new work requirements for participants and forces states to start paying for some food aid benefits. The Trump administration is still fighting to obtain sensitive personal data of SNAP applicants, including individuals’ Social Security numbers, and Rollins has teased other future reforms to the program.
Anti-hunger groups and Democrats have noted that there isn’t nearly as much SNAP fraud as Trump officials allege and that benefits average to about $6 a day per participant.
“[Rollins’] words have consequences, and her offhanded comments about forcing people to reapply for SNAP benefits created unnecessary confusion for the millions who are already struggling to afford food due to the reckless tariff and economic policies of the Trump administration,” House Agriculture Committee ranking member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) said in a statement.
“This is yet another example of President Trump and his administration trying to make it harder for American families to get food,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a statement Tuesday.
