Trump administration says SNAP recipients will have to reapply for benefits, prove ‘they can’t survive without it’

“At every turn, Donald Trump jumps at the chance to make it more difficult for Americans to access the social services they need and deserve,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson told theGrio.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the Trump administration will soon require millions of SNAP recipients to reapply for their benefits, citing an effort to eliminate fraud and abuse from the federal food assistance program.

Rollins told Newsmax that the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s efforts to collect data on SNAP enrollees from states will allow the agency to “fundamentally rebuild this program.” As part of that mission, the USDA will “have everyone reapply for their benefit” and “make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through SNAP or food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable, and they can’t survive without it.”

Secretary Rollins claimed that, based on data the USDA has collected thus far, “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check.” She also claimed that “500,000 people are receiving two SNAP payments.”

“They’ll tell you this is about addressing fraud and abuse — all while making it easier for the rich to commit fraud and abuse themselves,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement to theGrio.

“At every turn, Donald Trump jumps at the chance to make it more difficult for Americans to access the social services they need and deserve. While the 1 percent get away with rampant corruption, extra steps are added for those simply trying to feed their children. Cruelty is the point of his policies. And Americans are sick of it.”

A spokesperson for the USDA said in a statement provided to theGrio, “Secretary Rollins wants to ensure the fraud, waste, and incessant abuse of SNAP ends. Rates of fraud were only previously assumed, and President Trump is doing something about it.”

The spokesperson added, “Using standard recertification processes for households is a part of that work. As well as ongoing analysis of State data, further regulatory work, and improved collaboration with States.”

President Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law on July 4, makes the largest cuts to SNAP in U.S. history ($186 billion). The law also includes new restrictions for the program, as well as work requirements.

As the Trump administration fought 25 states led by Democrats in a court battle over full payments for SNAP recipients during the government shutdown, the president suggested that the government may be spending too much on SNAP and that the program’s cost was lower during his first term than when Joe Biden was president.

He implied that the Biden White House provided SNAP services to people who didn’t need them — including those who don’t want to work.

“When I was president, the number that you’re talking about was a tiny fraction of what it is now. Biden went totally crazy. Gave it to anybody that would ask,” the president claimed. He continued, “Gave it to people that were able-bodied, had no problem. Anybody that would ask….This wasn’t meant for that. It was meant for people that had real problems. In many cases, people that were down and out, people that could be saved.”

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 89% of households with children and a working-age, non-disabled adult included at least one member who worked. Most workers who receive SNAP have low-wage jobs and need the federal assistance to make ends meet.