Judge blocks SNAP cuts to Minnesota

By and FOX 9 Staff
Published  January 17, 2026 6:16pm CST
FOX 9

The Brief

    • A ruling from a federal judge blocked the United States Department of Agriculture from cutting SNAP benefits to about 100,000 Minnesota households.
    • The preliminary injunction is in response to the USDA demanding in-person interviews of SNAP recipients.
    • State officials say there are about 440,000 people in Minnesota who rely on SNAP benefits each month.

MINNESOTA (FOX 9) - SNAP benefits in Minnesota will continue to be funded after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction filed by the state's attorney general.

This comes after President Trump's administration threatened to withhold federal funds that make the program possible. 

Court blocks USDA demand for in-person interviews of SNAP recipients

Big picture view:

Back in December 2025, Trump administration officials said states who refuse to comply with federal reporting standards risk losing SNAP funding.

Those reporting standards included conducting in-person interviews with SNAP recipients.

Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit on Dec. 23 challenging the USDA's demand, which he described as impossible. The Trump administration continued to threaten to cut off Minnesota's SNAP funding unless the state complied.

However, a U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota issued a preliminary injunction to block the implementation of the new reporting standards, preventing the state from losing SNAP administration funding.

The judge said Minnesota must file its plan of operation and file a declaration identifying the harm that the USDA would cause by withholding this federal money for the first quarter of 2026.

By the numbers:

State officials said Minnesota has about 450,000 people who rely on SNAP benefits each month, including 180,000 children, 70,000 seniors and 50,000 adults with disabilities.

In May 2025, data showed that 7.8% of the population participates in the program – a total of 451,966 people.

Minnesota Attorney General response 

What they're saying:

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison shared the following statement: 

"We have won yet another battle in the Trump administration’s war on Minnesota. Before any of us in the state are Republicans or Democrats, we are Minnesotans, and it should shock and disgust us that this president is trying to take food off the table of half a million of our neighbors. I’m pleased to have stopped this from happening, and I will continue to do everything in my power to stand up to the Trump administration when they try to harm the people of Minnesota."

The Source: This story uses information from federal court documents and previous FOX 9 reporting. 

PoliticsKeith Ellison