US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has announced plans to overhaul the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to eliminate widespread fraud and corruption.
The Department of Agriculture stated in a press release to Newsweek that it will require applying households to follow a unified recertification process. Additionally, the federal government will continue analyzing state application data to enhance oversight and improve collaboration with states.
Approximately 42 million low-income Americans rely on SNAP to pay for food groceries each month.
The statement emphasizes that while past administrations have assumed the existence of SNAP fraud, the Trump administration is taking action.
It is reported that the Trump administration plans two major reforms to the SNAP program: implementing work requirements for SNAP recipients introduced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which may result in millions losing eligibility; and potentially requiring recipients to reapply for benefits to exclude those who no longer qualify from the program.
The Department of Agriculture stated, “Secretary Rollins aims to ensure that fraud, waste, and ongoing misuse of SNAP are completely eradicated.”
During the 43-day government shutdown, the focus was on the SNAP program as many did not receive their benefits on time in November.
Rollins stated in an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday (18th) that early data shows “18.6 thousand deceased individuals still receiving SNAP benefits,” in addition to 500,000 people receiving SNAP benefits in multiple states simultaneously.
According to Fox Business, data from the US Department of Agriculture shows that in just the first quarter of 2025, over 226,000 fraudulent benefit applications and 691,000 fraudulent transactions were approved.
These fraudulent reports and transactions in the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year resulted in over $102 million in losses to the government, higher than the $69.4 million in the previous quarter and $31.9 million in the same period of the 2024 fiscal year.
Rollins mentioned that hundreds of SNAP benefit fraudsters have been arrested by the Department of Agriculture.
She also added that the government shutdown enabled scrutiny of SNAP misuse, exposing the issue to light and providing a platform to dismantle the program thoroughly.
Rollins stated that these reforms aim to “ensure that vulnerable Americans in genuine need of assistance can access it,” pledging to rid the program of “all fraudsters, corrupt individuals, and those profiting from the program.”
On November 6, President Trump stated, “SNAP is intended for those truly in need, often for those down and out, seeking a way out. It is not for those gaming the system, not for those saying, ‘Well, I don’t want to work, I just want to collect this money.'”