Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on March 23 that he has joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging new conditions placed on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding for critical programs in Minnesota and other states.
The lawsuit claims that the administration’s requirements threaten essential nutrition and emergency services by tying federal funds to state compliance with policies related to immigration, diversity, equity and inclusion, and gender identity—matters not directly connected to food assistance or emergency aid.
According to Ellison, “It’s cruel, unlawful, and absurd for Donald Trump to cut support for hungry Minnesotans unless our state complies with his completely unrelated demands around DEI, gender identity, and immigration. Feeding our hungry neighbors has nothing to do with DEI or gender, it’s a simple matter of doing what’s right. Minnesota is doing what’s right, and I’m taking Donald Trump to court to stop him from using hungry Minnesotans as a political prop.”
The USDA implemented these new funding rules effective December 31, 2025. The suit alleges that the agency did not clearly specify which policies states must follow or limit their scope—leaving states uncertain about compliance expectations. Programs at risk include school lunches; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP); and firefighting capacity initiatives.
Ellison argues that losing federal support would have immediate consequences: SNAP alone supports roughly 440,000 Minnesotans each month through $70-75 million in benefits distributed via local grocers and farmers markets. WIC serves approximately 20,000 infants and 60,000 children monthly; TEFAP supports nearly nine million food shelf visits annually across Minnesota; other grants fund vital firefighting equipment and training statewide.
Ellison previously secured court orders protecting SNAP benefits from similar administrative actions in late 2025 and early 2026. The current legal action seeks an injunction preventing USDA from enforcing what Ellison describes as unconstitutional conditions attached to necessary aid.
