Trump Administration to Require All SNAP Recipients to Reapply

A Nationwide Reapplication Order

The Trump administration has announced a plan requiring that each recipient of the SNAP program, until now known as food stamps, reapply for benefits. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the move is designed to make sure all beneficiaries are “truly vulnerable” and dependent on the assistance. The USDA has yet to release details on how this reapplication process would differ from current procedures already in place.

Unclear Timeline, Growing State-Level Concerns

While Rollins emphasized fairness and accountability, the lack of an implementation timeline or a procedural road map has state agencies uncertain. Most states already require recipients to recertify income, employment, and household details every six months. It remains unclear how this new directive would affect those workflows-and whether more administrative burdens will fall to under-resourced local offices.

SNAP Spending Under Political Spotlight

The announcement has come at a time when SNAP faces renewed political scrutiny following a temporary lapse in federal funding during the government shutdown. The program, with nearly 42 million Americans enrolled and total expenditures nearing $100 billion in FY 2024, has been a target for fiscal conservatives looking to cut government spending.

Fraud Prevention Claims Met with Skepticism

The USDA cites fraud concerns, including misreported income, unauthorized EBT sales, and data errors, as reason to make people reapply. Rollins said the department matched more than 180,000 people listed as deceased still receiving the benefits. Anti-hunger advocates and state officials pushed back on that statistic, citing well-documented mismatches in federal and state data that produce false positives.

Data Privacy and Federal Overreach Concerns

In addition to procedural confusion, privacy concerns are also rising. The USDA requested sensitive information from states in order to audit the SNAP system, including Social Security numbers; 29 have complied, but many questioned the legal basis and transparency of the request. Lawsuits over such demands for data already abound.

Part of Broader Republican Budget-Cutting Strategy

The reapplication rule was part of the broader push to rewrite public benefits programs through the GOP’s “DOGE” budget cutting framework. The newly signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut $186 billion from SNAP, adding further work requirements and narrower eligibility standards to the program, with changes ranking among the most sweeping to the program in decades.