The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed a rule that would remove about 6.3 million people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation’s largest food assistance program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s own analysis.
The proposal, published in the Federal Register on November 10, would end a policy known as broad-based categorical eligibility, under which states automatically qualify households for food stamps when they receive services funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Under the change, only households receiving TANF cash assistance would keep automatic eligibility.
The department estimates that about 6.3 million people in 3.2 million households — nearly 18% of all SNAP recipients — would lose benefits once the rule takes full effect in fiscal year 2029. About 1.78 million children would also lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, about 42,000 children could lose Summer EBT benefits, and about 5,500 women, infants and children could lose eligibility for the WIC nutrition program, according to the agency’s analysis.
Proposal, not a final rule
Nothing changes for families yet. The rule is a proposal, and the public has 30 days to comment, through December 10, 2026, before the department can move toward finalizing it.
The Agriculture Department says the change is meant to “preserve benefits for the truly needy,” arguing that the current policy lets households above the program’s federal income and asset limits receive benefits. Critics, including Save the Children, say the proposal would put food assistance out of reach for millions of children and warn that the department’s estimates may not capture the full effect of the added paperwork and administrative barriers on eligible families.
Context: enrollment already falling
The proposal lands on top of earlier cuts. More than 5.5 million people have already lost SNAP benefits since President Donald Trump signed cuts to the program into law in July 2025, bringing enrollment to about 36 million people, according to USDA data cited by Reuters. As of December 2025, 46 states and territories used broad-based categorical eligibility, according to the department.
A similar rule was proposed during the first Trump administration in 2019 and later withdrawn.
Sources: Reuters; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Save the Children; Federal Register.
