Trump Administration’s SNAP Proposal Could End Benefits for 6.3 Million
A USDA proposed rule would narrow categorical eligibility for SNAP, which the department estimates would remove 6.3 million people from the program when fully implemented.
The Trump administration proposed a major change to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility on Tuesday, November 10, that the Agriculture Department estimates would cause 6.3 million people to stop receiving benefits when the policy reaches its full effect.
The measure is not yet final. USDA published it as a proposed rule in the Federal Register, opening a public-comment period through December 10, 2026. The estimate describes the department’s projection for fiscal 2029—not people who have already lost assistance.
What USDA wants to change
The proposal concerns categorical eligibility, a process that can let a household qualify for SNAP because it receives benefits or services funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Forty-six states use a broader version of this approach, often called broad-based categorical eligibility, to adjust income or asset limits and streamline enrollment.
USDA proposes limiting that pathway to households receiving TANF “assistance” as defined in federal regulations, generally cash or other benefits intended to meet ongoing basic needs. Receipt of noncash or in-kind TANF-funded services would no longer be enough on its own to confer categorical SNAP eligibility. Households that do not qualify through the narrower pathway could still apply under SNAP’s federal income and resource tests.
USDA projects 3.2 million households would lose SNAP
The department’s regulatory analysis estimates that 3.2 million households containing 6.3 million people would no longer receive SNAP in fiscal 2029, the first year of the proposal’s full effects. That equals about 16.9% of participating households and 17.6% of participants. USDA says those households have income or resources above the federal statutory limits but currently qualify through categorical eligibility.
USDA also projects a $44.649 billion reduction in federal SNAP benefit spending from fiscal 2027 through fiscal 2031. The analysis separately estimates that states would spend about $928.5 million more on SNAP administration while recording a net $5.243 billion reduction in state spending under cost-sharing rules established in 2025. Those figures are agency estimates that could change before any final rule.
Effects would extend to school meals and WIC
Because participation in SNAP can establish eligibility for other nutrition programs, the proposal would have effects beyond monthly food benefits. USDA estimates 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals. It projects that roughly 97% of those children would remain eligible for free or reduced-price meals based on household income, but families or schools would need to complete another certification process.
The department estimates that about 42,000 children could potentially stop receiving Summer EBT beginning in summer 2029. It also projects that 5,500 women, infants and children would no longer qualify for WIC, while 16,500 other affected WIC participants would remain income-eligible and could certify through a different process.
The administration calls the broader policy a loophole
USDA argues that categorical eligibility was created to avoid duplicating income and resource checks for households already screened by another assistance program. The department says using nominal or noncash TANF-funded benefits to qualify households has expanded SNAP beyond limits set by Congress. A USDA spokesperson told The Washington Sun that the proposal would correct what the department considers a long-standing loophole.
The change would revive and broaden an effort from Trump’s first term. USDA proposed a narrower categorical-eligibility rule in 2019 and then estimated that 3.1 million people would lose SNAP. The Biden administration withdrew that proposal in 2021. USDA’s new estimate is roughly double the earlier figure, reflecting both a different policy design and updated data and assumptions.
What happens next
USDA is accepting written comments on docket FNA-2026-0661 through December 10. The department must review relevant submissions before deciding whether to issue, revise or withdraw a final rule. Until that process is complete, existing categorical-eligibility rules remain in place and the projected benefit reductions have not taken effect.
Sources and image credit
- Primary source — Federal Register proposed rule, “Reforming Categorical Eligibility”
- Primary source — USDA regulatory impact analysis, Regulations.gov docket FNA-2026-0661
- The Washington Sun — USDA proposes rule that would remove millions from SNAP