A federal court has temporarily blocked the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) from enforcing a requirement that Minnesota conduct in-person interviews for nearly 100,000 households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits within 30 days. The order comes after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s demand.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota granted a preliminary injunction requested by Ellison, protecting SNAP benefits for approximately 440,000 Minnesotans who rely on the program. The USDA had previously threatened to cut off administrative funding and disqualify Minnesota from participating in SNAP if the state did not comply with its demands. According to the lawsuit, these requirements are prohibited under federal law.
During a recent hearing, USDA officials delivered a letter to an attorney from Ellison’s office indicating that administrative funds had already been cut off. The court’s injunction also halted this action.
“We have won yet another battle in the Trump administration’s war on Minnesota,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Before any of us in the state are Republicans or Democrats, we are Minnesotans, and it should shock and disgust us that this president is trying to take food off the table of half a million of our neighbors. I’m pleased to have stopped this from happening, and I will continue to do everything in my power to stand up to the Trump administration when they try to harm the people of Minnesota.”
Minnesota’s SNAP program serves about 440,000 residents each month, including roughly 180,000 children, 70,000 seniors, and 50,000 adults with disabilities.
