Bonta blocks USDA move to cut California food aid

CALIFORNIA – California attorney general Rob Bonta announced September 19 that the state won a temporary order blocking the USDA from cutting off SNAP funding to California and other states while litigation continues.

U.S. District judge Maxine M. Chesney granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), saying states would likely face irreparable harm if USDA proceeded.

SNAP is a federal program run by states that provides billions in food aid to millions of low-income families each year.

The USDA, citing fraud prevention, asked states in May and July 2025 to provide a large set of SNAP records, including names, birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, EBT transaction data, and benefit amounts.

The agency warned that failure to comply could trigger “noncompliance procedures” and the loss of federal funding.

In July, Bonta and a multistate coalition sued USDA, arguing the data demand violated federal privacy laws and the Constitution. The coalition sought emergency relief after USDA threatened to withhold key SNAP funding unless states surrendered the data.

The court said USDA’s arguments about fraud prevention did not justify overriding existing legal protections at this stage.

‘President’s mass surveillance database’

Bonta called the order a first step in stopping the administration’s data demand.

“No Californian should have to choose between putting food on the table and allowing their personal data to be fed into the President’s mass surveillance database,” he said.

The ruling provides temporary protection but is not a final decision. USDA’s request could still be allowed depending on the court’s later findings.