Judge blocks Trump SNAP conditions on states in Boston ruling

A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration from making states accept new political conditions to keep receiving SNAP money, a ruling that preserves food aid for millions of low-income households while a larger clash over federal power moves forward.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, stopping the Agriculture Department from tying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding to requirements related to gender ideology, immigration, and fair athletic opportunities for women and girls. The case was brought by 20 Democratic-led states, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed suit on March 23, 2026, over what they called USDA’s “2026 Conditions.”

The states argued that the administration had placed unconstitutional and unlawful barriers between a federal program created by Congress and the states that rely on it to feed families. They said the new conditions reached far beyond SNAP and threatened funding for nearly all USDA programs, including food assistance, agriculture, and public safety grants. Federal lawyers said the requirements would improve oversight and stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

The ruling gives states immediate relief: they can keep SNAP funding without adopting the disputed conditions, at least while the case is litigated. It also underscores how the White House’s immigration and culture-policy agenda is being translated into grant rules that can reach deep into state-administered safety-net programs.

SNAP remains one of the country’s largest nutrition supports, helping about 39 million Americans buy groceries. Yet the program has already been shrinking. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculations from USDA data show participation fell by more than 3 million people, or 8 percent, between the Republican megabill’s enactment in July 2025 and January 2026. Over the past year, enrollment dropped by more than 4 million people, or 10 percent, even as unemployment held flat at 4 percent since July, making a weaker labor market an unlikely explanation for the decline.

USDA’s own data page lists January 2026 as the latest available national SNAP summary month and says January and July data are reported later, a reminder that the numbers are still preliminary. Judge Joun, who was nominated by President Joe Biden on January 23, 2023, confirmed by the Senate on July 12, 2023, and commissioned on July 14, 2023, said he would issue a memorandum later explaining his decision.

The ruling follows another Massachusetts-led SNAP fight over USDA demands for state applicant and recipient data. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has called SNAP funding a lifeline and accused the administration of using hunger as a political weapon.