The Agriculture Department is proposing to sharply restrict eligibility for federal food assistance, a change it estimates would cut millions of people from the program.
The proposed rule, which is set to publish Tuesday in the Federal Register, would limit a policy that lets states automatically consider households eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The USDA says the change would close a “loophole” that has let households with incomes or savings above federal limits qualify for food aid. It would close down “categorical eligibility” for SNAP to households that receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families “assistance,” which is largely temporary cash aid, rather than the non-cash services that 46 states now use to qualify people automatically.
Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden signed the rule, which the USDA said would reduce federal benefit spending by roughly $44.6 billion over five years. The department estimates 3.2 million households, or 6.3 million individuals, would lose benefits in fiscal 2029, the first year the rule would be fully in effect.
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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has been publicly critical of the broad-based eligibility criteria, saying on Fox News in April that no identity verification is required to sign up.
“Broad-based categorical eligibility has bloated the welfare rolls for decades,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. “It has allowed States to take short cuts, error rates to balloon, and those with income and assets far above federal limits access to a benefit meant for the neediest among us. Correcting this loophole is long overdue.”
It’s the second time the Trump administration has tried to narrow categorical eligibility. The Biden administration later withdrew the 2019 proposal that USDA estimated would have cost 3.1 million people their SNAP benefits. This new rule would affect roughly twice as many people, and the department lists that 2019 framework as an alternative.
The rule would also affect other programs that use SNAP participation as a shortcut. The USDA estimates that about 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, though about 97% would still qualify based on household income and would have to be certified another way. It also projects that about 42,000 children could lose Summer EBT and 5,500 people could lose WIC eligibility.
The change would be another move that shifts the administrative costs of SNAP from the federal government to the states. The Senate is currently debating a farm bill, with the key disagreement being an extension for states to reduce their error rates.
Under a reconciliation bill last year, states are required to share the cost of SNAP if their error rates are above 6%. So far, Republicans have offered a one-year delay for states, while Democrats are pushing for two.
The USDA expects states to verify household resources for many more applicants and modify their eligibility systems. The department estimates that state administrative costs would rise by about $929 million over five years.
Despite this increase, it also projects that states would spend a net $5.2 billion less over that period because of lower benefit costs under the 2025 reconciliation law.
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