Coalition of 21 State AGs Sues USDA Over SNAP Data Mandate

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over a USDA mandate requiring states to hand over sensitive personal data of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. The lawsuit challenges the administration's demand for five years of SNAP recipient data, including Social Security numbers and home addresses, warning that noncompliance could result in loss of federal funding for states. Critics argue this data collection exceeds legal authority, violates privacy protections, and risks creating a surveillance system that could be used for immigration enforcement, undermining trust in the SNAP program. The Trump administration claims the data is necessary to detect fraud and improve program efficiency, but opponents emphasize SNAP's historically low fraud rates and contend the move politicizes and endangers vulnerable families. The attorneys general stress that SNAP information should only be used to administer the program, not shared with unrelated agencies, and they vow to protect recipients' privacy and constitutional rights. Michigan alone distributes approximately $254 million in SNAP benefits monthly to around 1.4 million residents, underscoring the high stakes of this dispute.