Federal SNAP Data Lawsuits Put State Benefit Privacy in Court

The Justice Department has turned a long-running dispute over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program records into four federal lawsuits, seeking court orders that would require Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota to provide five years of SNAP applicant data to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The lawsuits were filed June 26, 2026. They do not announce a change to SNAP eligibility or benefits for households in those states. Instead, they test whether the federal government can compel states to provide detailed records held by the agencies that administer the food-assistance program.

What the federal government wants

According to DOJ, USDA is seeking records needed to review state eligibility decisions, household benefit levels and possible waste, fraud and abuse. Federal officials say 29 other jurisdictions supplied data and that their review indicated billions of dollars per year in possible SNAP overpayments and fraud.

That figure is a federal estimate and allegation, not a final judicial finding that the four states concealed fraud or that the cited amount represents confirmed improper payments. DOJ is asking the courts to issue injunctions requiring compliance after the states declined renewed requests for the records.

What information is involved

A February 26, 2026 order from the Northern District of California describes the categories of information at issue in the earlier dispute. They include names, dates of birth, residential addresses, Social Security numbers, citizenship or immigration status, income and assets.

The requests also cover records sufficient to calculate the total value of SNAP benefits received over time. In the earlier demand, the period began January 1, 2020, and continued through the present at the time of the request. The new lawsuits are described by DOJ as seeking five years of applicant data.

The court record also describes disputes over data-security protocols and possible use or disclosure after transfer to federal systems. Those concerns are central to the states’ opposition. State officials have said the requests are unusually broad and could conflict with privacy, disclosure and security protections.

Why USDA says it has authority

SNAP is federally funded and overseen by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, but participating states determine eligibility, certify households and retain applications and related records. The court described that division of responsibility in the earlier litigation.

The federal government says that structure gives USDA authority to examine whether states are properly administering SNAP. The states argue that federal oversight does not automatically permit an unrestricted transfer of sensitive personal information or allow USDA to impose penalties outside the limits of federal law.

What the earlier court order did

The four new lawsuits follow an earlier multistate case in Northern California. In 2025, USDA demanded SNAP records from a group of states and warned that it could withhold significant amounts of SNAP funding from states that did not comply.

On October 15, 2025, the court issued a preliminary injunction barring USDA from disallowing SNAP funding based on the states’ failure to comply with the demands covered by the formal warning letters, or from otherwise acting on those demands.

USDA renewed its data request in November 2025 and again threatened funding consequences in December. In its February 26, 2026 order, the court said the renewed request was not automatically covered by the existing injunction because that injunction addressed the earlier warning letters. The court then granted the states’ motion in part, providing additional preliminary relief.

The ruling therefore did not permanently bar USDA from making every future SNAP data request. It addressed the particular demands and enforcement steps before the court while leaving the broader legal dispute unresolved.

What changes with the new cases

The June lawsuits move the dispute toward direct judicial enforcement. Rather than relying only on administrative warnings or threatened funding penalties, DOJ is asking federal courts to compel production of the records.

For SNAP applicants and recipients, the immediate practical point is limited: the lawsuits alone do not establish that benefits have been cut, suspended or changed, and they do not require individuals to submit new information. Households should continue to rely on notices from their state SNAP agency for any direct instructions.

For states, the cases could determine how far federal agencies may go in auditing state-administered benefit programs, what safeguards must accompany cross-government data transfers and whether federal funding can be used as leverage in a records dispute. The next major developments will be the states’ responses, any rulings on DOJ’s requested injunctions and further decisions about the relationship between the new cases and the earlier Northern California litigation.

Sources

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