Federal judge blocks USDA from cutting Minnesota's SNAP funding over "likely illegal" 30-day deadline

U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino granted Minnesota AG Keith Ellison's injunction request, blocking the USDA from cutting off food assistance to 440,000+ Minnesotans. The USDA had issued a Dec. 16, 2025 demand requiring in-person re-verification of ~100,000 SNAP households within 30 days. The judge ruled in a 50-page order that USDA failed to justify the compressed timeline and that nearly $900 million in annual federal food program funding was at stake.