The Trump Administration Wants to Impose New Restrictions on SNAP

The Department of Agriculture is quietly considering new restrictions that could jeopardize access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for millions of Americans.

The proposal, if enacted, would restrict broad-based categorical eligibility, which allows residents in participating states to be eligible for SNAP benefits automatically when they qualify for state-issued, non-cash Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits.

The USDA is considering allowing eligibility only for individuals who qualify for cash TANF benefits, according to the draft, which the USDA submitted to the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Oct. 24 to initiate a review process.

“The proposed revisions would create a clearer and more consistent nationwide policy that ensures categorical eligibility is extended only to households that have sufficiently demonstrated eligibility by qualifying for ongoing and substantial benefits from TANF-funded programs designed to assist households and move them towards self-sufficiency,” the proposal’s abstract reads.

The USDA’s consideration of this change is one in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to restrict and reform SNAP. Others include provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will impose stricter requirements on SNAP participants and is estimated to cut billions in program spending over the next 10 years.

Though the full rule has yet to be published, the first Trump administration put forward a similar proposal. That change was not seen through to completion and was rescinded by the Biden administration.

Eliminating broad-based categorical eligibility has long been championed by some conservative groups, which have argued that non-cash TANF benefits are too easy to qualify for. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 called for broad-based categorical eligibility to be reformed. The American Enterprise Institute published a report in late September on how the Trump administration could navigate getting rid of it.

“Expanding eligibility for SNAP in this way circumvents the program’s statutory requirements that Congress established for asset, gross income, and net income limits by conferring eligibility on households that never actually received cash assistance from TANF,” the AEI authors wrote.

Opponents of the potential change cite figures that suggest millions of Americans could lose access to SNAP and encounter more red tape if they try to attain benefits again.

“What we expect to see soon: A proposed rule that would gut broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE), a longstanding policy 40+ states have adopted that allows people to earn slightly more & build modest savings without immediately being cut off SNAP,” Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote on X.

“Ending BBCE would terminate SNAP for nearly 6 million people nationwide & would have harmful ripple effects, especially for families with children. Kids who are cut off SNAP would also lose automatic enrollment for free school meals & streamlined eligibility for WIC,” she continued.

The White House referred NOTUS to OMB. OMB and the USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.