The ruling blocks the USDA from withholding $80 million in SNAP administrative funding while a legal challenge by Minnesota proceeds.
A federal judge on Jan. 14 stopped the Trump administration from withholding $80 million in administrative costs for Minnesota’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), ruling that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s tight deadline for reviewing the eligibility of 100,000 households was likely illegal.
U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino said during a hearing in Saint Paul that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) failed to justify why Minnesota needed to complete the review of recipient eligibility by Jan. 15, or face losing half its administrative costs. She noted the agency ignored laws limiting such reviews to once per year.
“USDA is asking the state to violate federal law, regulations, and the state’s own operational plan,” which had previously been approved by the agency, said Provinzino.
The injunction prevents the USDA from cutting the funds, including $20 million for the first quarter that was set to be withheld on Jan. 14, until the lawsuit is resolved.
The case focuses on administrative costs, not direct benefits to recipients.
Minnesota officials argued the USDA’s actions stem from political animosity by President Donald Trump toward the state and Gov. Tim Walz.
“This is part of an ongoing effort by the federal government to pummel our state,” Joseph Richie of the Minnesota Attorney General’s office said during the hearing.
Brian Mizoguchi of the U.S. Department of Justice argued that Minnesota’s issues with other federal programs justified the move, and the state could cover costs itself.
The move ties into broader allegations of fraud in Minnesota’s social programs. The USDA cited a scandal involving theft of federal welfare funds as a reason for the review.
The Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of SNAP nationwide, with around 118 arrests for fraud in one operation, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News in Nocember 2025.
Rollins has highlighted “massive fraud,” including thousands of dead people receiving benefits and duplicate payments.
She said in a Nov. 2, 2025, post on X that 21 states refused to send data for review to the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
