Trump administration threatens to pull Arizona's administrative funds for SNAP
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President Trump and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in the Oval Office on June 10. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Federal funding that Arizona uses to administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is at risk after the Trump administration threatened Democratic-led states that don't disclose recipient information, including immigration status.
Why it matters: About 900,000 Arizonans rely on SNAP for food assistance.
State of play: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday announced that if Democratic states refuse to provide identifying information for SNAP recipients, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will stop transferring administrative funds to them next week.
- USDA told all states in February "to turn over their data" to the federal government so it and state agencies could "root out" any fraud in the system, per Rollins.
- Republican-led states provided the records, helping the administration determine examples of food stamp fraud, she said, while Democrat-run states chose to "protect illegals, criminals, and bad actors over the American taxpayer."
Between the lines: It wasn't clear from Rollins' remarks whether the administration had proof of fraud prior to calling for the data, and USDA representatives did not immediately respond to Axios' request to clarify this.
Zoom in: Arizona is among the states poised to lose SNAP benefits under the Trump administration's threat, said Christian Slater, a spokesperson for Gov. Katie Hobbs.
- The threat doesn't change Hobbs' opposition to the administration's demand.
- "It's about protecting the privacy of Arizonans," Slater said. The Arizona Attorney General's Office said in September the information "would likely be shared across federal agencies and used for immigration enforcement, in violation of the law."
- Slater also said Arizona already has "strong fraud protections" for SNAP.
It's unclear how much the pulling of federal funding would cost Arizona.
- Slater told Axios that the governor's office was still trying to determine that cost.
Catch up quick: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Democratic officials in 20 other states and Washington, D.C., sued the Trump administration in July to challenge its demand for information about SNAP recipients.
- A federal judge temporarily blocked the USDA from stripping SNAP benefits from Arizona and other states in September.
- The administration said it would appeal, but the judge rejected its request to pause the injunction.
- Given that ruling and a subsequent preliminary injunction in October, the Attorney General's Office believes the Trump administration's threats are illegal, even if the money is for administration, not actual food benefits. The office is "evaluating appropriate remedies," spokesperson Richie Taylor told Axios.
Flashback: This is the second time in recent months that Arizona's SNAP funding were jeopardized. The federal government shutdown that ended last month after 43 days delayed food assistance for people nationwide.
- During the shutdown, Hobbs directed $1.8 million in state funding to help.