California Attorney General Rob Bonta, together with New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 21 attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its recent demand for states to provide personal information about millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The USDA has indicated that it may withhold administrative funding for SNAP if states do not comply with the request, which could put at risk critical nutrition assistance for low-income families across the country. California alone receives about $1 billion annually to administer SNAP, and any delay or loss of these funds could have significant consequences for residents who depend on the program.
“President Trump continues to weaponize private and sensitive personal information — not to root out fraud, but to create a culture of fear where people are unwilling to apply for essential services. We’re talking about kids not getting school lunch; fire victims not accessing emergency services; and other devastating, and deadly, consequences. That is Trump’s vision for America,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This unprecedented demand that states turn over SNAP data violates all kinds of state and federal privacy laws and further breaks the trust between the federal government and the people it serves. The President doesn’t get to change the rules in the middle of the game, no matter how much he may want to. While he may be comfortable breaking promises to the American people, California is not. We will not comply with this illegal demand. We’ll see the President in court.”
For six decades, SNAP has served as an important safety net by providing food assistance credits to eligible Americans through a partnership between federal and state agencies. According to previous statements from USDA itself, SNAP maintains one of the most rigorous quality control systems among federal programs.
In May 2025, USDA asked states to provide extensive personal data on all SNAP applicants and recipients—including social security numbers and home addresses—going back five years. This request would affect tens of millions nationwide, including more than five million Californians.
The stated reason from USDA is preventing fraud and abuse within SNAP; however, their own findings reportedly contradict this justification.
Reports indicate that this effort may be part of a broader campaign by federal officials to collect large amounts of personal data from various sources for undisclosed purposes such as immigration enforcement efforts. In related actions already challenged in court by California, agencies like Homeland Security have obtained sensitive data from other federal departments regarding Medicaid recipients.
Federal and state laws generally prohibit disclosure of personally identifying information collected through SNAP except under strict circumstances necessary for program administration—which are reportedly not present here.
Attorney General Bonta’s coalition argues that USDA’s demands violate several federal privacy laws as well as constitutional provisions such as the Spending Clause. They also claim that USDA failed to follow required public comment procedures before making such demands.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that these demands are unlawful and asks the court to prevent USDA from conditioning future funding on compliance with them.
Joining California and New York in filing suit are attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island Washington Wisconsin Kentucky as well as Washington D.C.
A copy of the lawsuit is available here.
