Mass. leaders respond to USDA’s threat to cut ‘blue state’ SNAP funding

The Trump administration may halt SNAP benefits for Blue states that don’t respond to its data request. State and city leaders in Massachusetts say this threat is worrisome.

“It is an extraordinary effort that continues to try to find every way to punish and harm our communities,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Mayor Wu is disappointed to hear that the Trump administration may withhold SNAP benefits once again, but this time, they’re targeting Democratic-led states that won’t provide documentation to show exactly who is receiving that financial aid for food.

“We asked every state, and this was the first time in history, to send us their data and let us with DOGE in a war room actually start going through this data to better understand how this explosion of SNAP benefits happened under Joe Biden,” said Brooke Rollins, Trump’s Agriculture Secretary for the USDA.

Last month, Sec. Rollins explained, this is all to crack down on fraud and to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving that aid.

“We have found thousands and thousands of illegal use of the EBT card we have been moving people off of SNAP, we have almost 700,000 people I think we’ve moved off,” said Rollins.

About 1 in 8 Americans rely on SNAP benefits to buy groceries, and about a million people in Massachusetts use the program.

“I wish I were surprised – imagine if just a fraction of the energy that is coming from the White House were going to actually fix problems and help people and make everyone’s lives better,” said Mayor Wu.

Governor Maura Healey responded to the president’s threat Tuesday.

“This is truly appalling and cruel,” said Gov. Healey in a statement. “The Trump Administration is once again playing politics with the ability of working parents with children, seniors and people with disabilities to get food. President Trump needs to order Secretary Rollins to release SNAP funding immediately and prevent more Americans from going hungry.”

The Trump administration says they could start withholding SNAP benefits as early as next week if they don’t get the data they requested.

The governor’s office says they have not received this notice from the federal government yet.

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