Preliminary injunction granted to prevent USDA from obtaining personal information from SNAP

Attorney General Josh Kaul secured a preliminary injunction continuing the temporary block of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from acting on its demand that states turn over personal and sensitive information about millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. This July, AG Kaul and a coalition of states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging that this demand violates multiple federal laws and the U.S. Constitution.  USDA has threatened to withhold administrative funding for the program if states fail to comply with its unprecedented demand for data, effectively forcing states to choose between protecting their residents’ privacy and providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need.