An Obama-appointed judge blocked the Trump administration’s effort on Monday to let a handful of states ban SNAP recipients from using food stamps to buy soda, candy and other sugary products."Amid a chronic disease epidemic, President Trump was elected with a resounding mandate to Make America Healthy Again," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital."This administration has rightfully put real food at the center of SNAP to promote healthier options for families in need.
This will not be the final say on the matter."The ruling is a setback for the administration’s "Make America Healthy Again" push, which has made SNAP reform a central front in its campaign against obesity, diabetes and chronic disease.U.S.District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Monday that because Congress has already defined "what ‘food’ is supposed to be," USDA cannot waive or amend the definition.
Jackson has served on the U.S.District Court for the District of Columbia since 2011, after then-President Barack Obama appointed her to the bench.'HALF A DOZEN' MORE STATES TO BAN SODA, JUNK FOOD PURCHASES WITH FOOD STAMPS, TRUMP AGRICULTURE SECRETARY SAYSWest Virginia Gov.
Patrick Morrisey holds a letter of intent to request changes to the state's SNAP and food dye legislation next to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr.
in Martinsburg, W.Va., on March 28, 2025.Both wear Make America Healthy Again hats.
(Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)Congress "set out clearly the type of experimental projects that could be tested to address the unquestionably serious health issues attributed to the rise of obesity in the population in general and particularly the low-income population.But it did not invite the Secretary to ignore its directives by trying to advance those ends under the banner of ‘efficiency’ or administrative improvements," Jackson wrote.The lawsuit was brought by SNAP recipients in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia, where USDA had ap...