Judge Temporarily Blocks Freeze of Minnesota Food Stamp Funding

A federal judge in Minnesota on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from freezing federal funding for food stamps and other hunger relief programs in the state. Judge Laura M. Provinzino of the United States District Court in Minnesota wrote in a 50-page ruling that the Agriculture Department’s decision to withhold federal funding was "without any reasoned explanation" and "haphazard," and she issued a preliminary injunction while litigation continues.

The ruling comes amid heightened tensions between the state and the Trump administration. The administration has sent thousands of immigration agents to Minneapolis, leveled fraud allegations and insulted top state officials, and tried to freeze funding for other social services; Minnesota officials have called for the federal agents to withdraw, and protesters in Minneapolis have at times clashed with immigration agents.

Officials have been disputing food stamp policy since mid-December, when Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins sent a Dec. 16 letter requiring Minnesota to recertify many food stamp recipients and the state sued a week later. On Jan. 9, the Agriculture Department announced it would withhold over $129 million in federal funding from Minnesota for food stamps and other programs; in a letter posted on social media, Ms.

Rollins cited unfolding investigations of fraud in Minnesota’s social safety net that have involved members of the Somali American community.

Key Topics

Politics, Laura M. Provinzino, Agriculture Department, Brooke Rollins, Food Stamps, Minnesota