A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s new compliance requirements for states receiving food stamp funding on Friday, granting a preliminary injunction that suspends conditions tied to “gender ideology,” immigration policy, and athletic fairness rules.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued the ruling in Boston, saying a written memorandum explaining his reasoning would follow at a later date. The order puts on hold a set of certification requirements the U.S. Department of Agriculture had been demanding from states as a condition of receiving billions of dollars under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, school lunch programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2026 by 20 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs collectively receive more than $74 billion annually from the USDA and argued the new conditions threatened programs serving millions of low-income families.
“USDA has thrown unconstitutional and unlawful roadblocks between the programs created by Congress and the States that rely on them, threatening critical nutrition support, vital agricultural research, and the safety of our national food chain and communities,” the states said in their complaint.
The challenged requirements, referred to as the “2026 Conditions,” took effect at the end of last year. States were required to certify compliance with a broad range of federal “policies,” including restrictions tied to gender ideology, immigration enforcement, and fair athletic opportunities for women and girls. Plaintiffs argued the requirements were vague, extending well beyond the scope of agricultural and nutrition programs, and that states were left unclear about what, exactly, they were being asked to certify.
The states also contended that the USDA lacked statutory authority to impose the conditions, that the policy violated the Constitution’s Spending Clause, and that it was implemented without following required legal procedures.
Government attorneys pushed back against the injunction request. In their court filing, lawyers for the administration argued that “these new requirements would help promote the sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars, strengthen USDA’s control and oversight of obligated funds, and ensure that grant recipients comply with federal laws, regulations, and policies.” The administration maintained that states already accept compliance conditions when they take federal money, and these conditions should be treated no differently.
SNAP is the largest federal nutrition assistance program in the United States, serving approximately 38 million Americans. Enrollment dropped by nearly 4.3 million between January 2025 and January 2026, according to preliminary Agriculture Department figures. Policy experts cite new eligibility requirements passed by the Republican-controlled Congress last summer as the primary driver of that decline.
