Agriculture Secretary calls SNAP "corrupt" one day before benefits lapse

• "The silver lining in all of this is we're having a national conversation on our SNAP program," Rollins said.

What they're saying: Rollins said one of her first actions after being sworn in as secretary was sending letters to state governments, reminding them that SNAP is administered through the states and governors' offices — and should not be provided to "illegal aliens."

• Under the second Trump administration, the USDA launched an investigation into SNAP "fraud and abuse," which Rollins said led to "dozens of arrests" and "people going to jail" over the past six months.
• She added that, for the first time, the USDA requested states submit SNAP beneficiary data to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately.
• "Not surprisingly, all the red states said yes, please help us ... we want to make sure there's not all this corruption and fraud," Rollins said, adding that two Democratic-led states — Colorado and North Carolina — also agreed to share data.
• "The other blue states, California, New York, Oregon and Washington actually sued us," she said.

• The Agriculture Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for a comment.

State of play: Twenty-five Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration earlier this week, claiming it's illegally withholding contingency funds that could keep the program afloat.

• As of Thursday, 14 states have announced food bank funding, two have reported direct financial aid and six have disclosed a combination of both.