The Trump administration released a plan this week that could cut more than 6 million people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as food stamps.
A proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture would limit a policy called “broad-based categorical eligibility,” which currently allows households that receive assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to also receive food aid through SNAP, even if their income is above the SNAP eligibility limit. States set their specific limits, but TANF benefits are in some cases available for those with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level; SNAP, on the other hand, typically cuts off aid at 130%.
According to an analysis by USDA, the rule change would result in nearly 18% of SNAP recipients — about 6.3 million people — losing their benefits. In addition, since SNAP automatically provides eligibility for other food aid programs, about 1.8 million children would lose access to free school lunches.
In the proposed rule published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the USDA said it was concerned that states had expanded SNAP benefit eligibility “beyond congressionally approved limits intended to preserve benefits for the truly needy.”
Some Democratic lawmakers spoke out against the rule change. Calling it “heartless and cruel,” Rep. Angie Craig, the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said the “proposed rule would make it harder to meet basic needs and roll back efforts to streamline federal programs.”
According to USDA data, more than 5 million people have already lost SNAP benefits during the second Trump administration, following the passage of the Republican tax bill in July 2025, which tightened the eligibility rules.
Currently, about 36 million people are receiving assistance through the program. If approved, the proposed rule change would take effect in 2029.