Attorney General Bonta Secures Second Court Order Blocking Trump Administration’s Demands for Personal Data of SNAP Applicants and Recipients

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today celebrated a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California once again blocking the Trump Administration’s demand that states turn over personal and sensitive information about millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants and recipients. Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta led a coalition in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration alleging that this demand violates federal law. The District Court agreed that the demand was likely unlawful, including because the Administration had stated its intent to disclose and use the demanded data for purposes unrelated to the administration of federal benefits programs, and granted a preliminary injunction.  

The coalition then went back to court when the Trump Administration again threatened to cut off administrative funding to states that do not turn over this data pursuant to a new data and security protocol that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had proposed. Today, the District Court held that USDA cannot collect states’ records without an agreed-upon protocol, and that the states appropriately rejected USDA’s proposed protocol because it would have allowed USDA to share the states’ data with entities unrelated to the administration of federal benefits programs, contrary to federal law. 

“The President has made no secret of his desire to build a mass surveillance database using Americans’ personal, private data,” said Attorney General Bonta. “For a second time, we’ve secured a court order rebuffing the Trump Administration’s demands that states turn over data on SNAP recipients. Time and again, the President has broken the law, and time and again, we’ve stopped him in court.”

“California has once again blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to seize data about families who are simply trying to put food on the table,” said Governor Newsom. “We will continue standing against this federal government’s attempt to weaponize hunger assistance to target vulnerable communities.”

BACKGROUND

SNAP is a federally funded, state-administered program that provides billions of dollars in food assistance to tens of millions of low-income families across the country. SNAP applicants provide their private information on the understanding, backed by federal law, that their information will not be used for unrelated purposes. In an attempt to bully states into compliance, the Trump Administration has repeatedly threatened to withhold administrative funding for the program if states fail to comply with its unprecedented demand for data — effectively forcing states to choose between protecting their residents’ privacy and providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need. 

Attorney General Bonta has vigorously defended SNAP from attacks by the Trump Administration. During the government shutdown last year, Attorney General Bonta sued USDA to force them to fund November SNAP benefits. Not one, but two federal district courts determined that the Trump Administration acted unlawfully. And when the Administration responded by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to pause one court’s order requiring USDA to pay full benefits, Attorney General Bonta vigorously challenged that request, which was ultimately withdrawn after the government reopened. The SNAP program is now fully funded through September 2026.  

Attorney General Bonta then again sued the Trump Administration to challenge USDA’s guidance that erroneously excluded certain lawfully residing non-citizens from SNAP eligibility. In response to that lawsuit, USDA backed down and issued correcting guidance. A district court also issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump Administration from penalizing California for any errors resulting from USDA’s erroneous guidance unlawfully restricting eligibility for SNAP.