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What Happens to SNAP Benefits as Trump Goes After Federal Aid
President Donald Trump has ordered a freeze on all federal assistance loans and grants, and there has been considerable confusion over what exactly is being targeted by the wide-ranging move.
A memorandum issued by the Office of Management and Budget ordered federal agencies “to identify and review all federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.” It followed a slew of executive orders issued by the president in his first week in office.
While the order has been temporarily halted by a U.S. district judge until early February, many have been wondering whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are included in the wide-ranging clampdown on federal spending.
Why It Matters
Commonly referred to as “food stamps,” SNAP benefits are administered nationwide to low- and no-income households that would otherwise struggle to purchase groceries. In 2023, the program served an average of 42.1 million people per month, or 12.6 percent of U.S. residents.
SNAP benefits are paid for by the federal government, but administered at state and local level.

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What to Know
The memo outlines that it “does not include assistance provided directly to individuals,” and following its issuance, a senior administration official told Reuters that SNAP benefits and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will not be impacted.
The president has signed a raft of executive orders since entering office on January 20. The memo says his new order applies to prior executive orders for various initiatives, including diversity and inclusion programs, domestic infrastructure, energy projects and foreign aid.
“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” the memo, authored by Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director for the Office of Management and Budget, reads.
“This temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.
“To implement these orders, each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders.”
Newsweek contacted the White House and the Office of Management and Budget via email for comment outside of regular working hours.
What People Are Saying
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday: “This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration. If they [federal agencies] feel that programs are necessary and in line with the president’s agenda, then the Office of Management and Budget will review those policies.”
Ali Hard, policy director at the National WIC Association, told Reuters: “For now, WIC remains open and families should continue to come in for appointments and redeem their benefits as usual. Any policy that would put this program at risk would be catastrophic.”
What’s Next
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s order. The hold placed by U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan stops the administration from implementing its decision until at least 5 p.m. ET on February 3.
Numerous states have indicated they plan to sue the federal government over the plans. New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island said Tuesday they planned to take legal action, followed by Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
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