More than 6 million Americans could lose food stamps under a Trump administration proposal that would impose tougher income and asset restrictions on families receiving federal assistance, stripping billions of dollars in grocery benefits from households and jeopardizing free school meals for children.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the proposed restrictions this week, estimating that 3.2 million households containing 6.3 million people would lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 2029. The cuts would eliminate $44.6 billion in federal food assistance over five years.
“These are working families,” Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP policy and advocacy director at the Food Research & Action Center, told CNN. “Instead of helping families, the administration is making life harder for them.”
The proposal targets a policy that allows states to enroll qualifying households in SNAP through certain other government assistance programs without imposing separate federal income and asset tests. The administration wants to restrict that automatic eligibility primarily to households receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits intended to cover ongoing basic needs.
Families receiving other TANF-funded services, including some child care and employment assistance, could face additional financial screening or lose eligibility altogether.
USDA estimates that 17.6% of SNAP participants would lose benefits because their income or resources exceed federal limits.
Children could also lose access to meals at school.
Nearly 1.8 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals. Although most could qualify through separate applications, approximately 93,000 would move to reduced-price meals, and 28,000 would have to pay full price. Another 42,000 children could lose summer nutrition benefits.
The administration also estimates that 5,500 women, infants and children would become ineligible for the federal WIC nutrition program.
In the District, where roughly one in five residents receives SNAP, the proposal threatens to compound federal restrictions already confronting thousands of households.
An October D.C. Policy Center analysis found that 21,000 District recipients face new work requirements under previously enacted legislation. The latest USDA proposal is separate, and federal officials have not released estimates showing how many additional Washington residents could lose assistance.
USDA maintains that existing policies have allowed households exceeding federal income and asset limits to qualify for benefits. Officials argue that stricter eligibility standards would preserve assistance for families demonstrating the greatest financial need.
Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, called the proposal “heartless and cruel,” criticizing the administration for making it harder for struggling households to obtain food assistance.
The proposal would also increase paperwork for applicants and state agencies, with USDA estimating additional administrative expenses as eligibility workers examine household resources.
The administration is accepting public comments through Dec. 10 before deciding whether to finalize the restrictions.
The D.C. Policy Center projects that the District could face approximately $84 million in additional annual SNAP expenses beginning in 2030, assuming participation, spending, and payment error rates remain unchanged.
“These costs cannot be filled by a one-time rearrangement of funds or single-year revenue increases; they are recurring expenses needed to maintain an existing program on which thousands of D.C. residents rely,” D.C. Policy Center researcher Meredith Gavin wrote.
