Trump Admin Orders Massive SNAP Re-Verification Crackdown
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the Trump administration will require millions of low-income Americans to reapply for food stamps as part of a broader effort to curb what it calls widespread “fraud” in the program.
In a Thursday interview with Newsmax, Rollins said the goal is to “have everyone reapply for their benefits, make sure that everyone receiving a taxpayer-funded benefit through food stamps is truly vulnerable and cannot survive without it.” She did not specify when the reapplication process would begin or what it would involve.
The remarks come after the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) temporarily ran out of federal funding during the recent government shutdown—a moment that sparked renewed criticism from conservative commentators and from President Donald Trump, who has questioned the program’s size and cost. SNAP serves nearly 42 million Americans and cost around $100 billion in fiscal year 2024.
According to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, SNAP fraud can include applicants lying about eligibility, retailers trading benefits for cash, or criminals skimming EBT cards. Anti-hunger advocates argue the administration is overstating the problem, noting that the average participant receives roughly $6 per day and that fraud represents a small fraction of program spending.
States already require recipients to regularly recertify their information—sometimes every six months—and beneficiaries are obligated to report changes in income, employment, and household status. USDA did not respond to questions about how Rollins’ plan differs from current state-level requirements.
Rollins has hinted at a sweeping overhaul of the program in the coming weeks. She has also directed states to submit sensitive personal data on SNAP recipients, including Social Security numbers, though that directive is being challenged in court.
On Thursday, Rollins claimed that data from 29 states revealed 186,000 “deceased men and women and children” still listed as receiving SNAP benefits.
Federal officials and Republican lawmakers have been pushing to show they are cracking down on wasteful spending, especially after the DOGE-driven budget reforms. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act—signed into law in July—cut $186 billion from SNAP, added new work requirements, and imposed stricter eligibility rules, marking the most significant restructuring of the program in its history.
“People keep talking about SNAP. But SNAP is supposed to be if you’re down and out,” Trump said Monday on Fox News. “The number is many times what it should be.”
“People who genuinely need it should get it—I’m all for that,” he added. “But able-bodied people leaving work because the benefits are easier? That’s not the purpose of it.”
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