BOSTON — A federal judge on Friday sided with 20 Democratic states and blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to force states to comply with a set of conditions to obtain billions of dollars from the United States. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
U.S. District Judge Myung Joon issued a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit challenging the conditions for receiving SNAP funding. Among them are restrictions related to “gender ideology,” “immigration,” and “fair sporting opportunities” for women and girls.
The judge said he would issue a memorandum later explaining his decision.
In their lawsuit, the states alleged that the Department of Agriculture “threw unconstitutional and illegal barriers between programs created by Congress and the states that rely on them, threatening critical nutrition supports, vital agricultural research, and the safety of our national food chain and our communities.”
Government lawyers opposed the preliminary injunction, claiming in a lawsuit that “these new requirements would help promote proper stewardship of taxpayer funds, enhance USDA’s control and oversight of obligated funds, and ensure grant recipients comply with federal laws, regulations, and policies.”
SNAP is a key part of America’s social safety net, helping about 39 million Americans, about 1 in 9, buy groceries. Beneficiaries fell by about 4.3 million from January 2025 to January 2026, according to preliminary government data from the Ministry of Agriculture. Experts say the new requirements imposed by the Republicans’ massive bill on taxes and spending cuts Push through Congress Last summer are the main reasons.