President Donald Trump’s Agriculture Department published the proposed eligibility restriction on 10 November. It estimates that 17% of recipients would leave the food-assistance program if the change takes effect.
President Donald Trump’s US Department of Agriculture published a proposal on 10 November 2026 to restrict automatic eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps low-income households buy food. The department estimates that about 6.3 million people would leave the program under the change; eligibility has not changed while the proposal is open for comment.
Currently, households can qualify for SNAP through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or certain other programs for people with limited means. TANF-funded benefits that count toward this route include cash assistance and noncash benefits or services. The proposal would limit the TANF route to households receiving assistance as defined in federal regulations.
SNAP generally requires household income below 130% of the federal poverty level. State TANF requirements vary and can accommodate households earning up to 200% of that level; qualifying through TANF is a separate route to automatic SNAP eligibility.
The department says the change would target SNAP benefits to needy households that qualify for TANF assistance while preserving the administrative simplicity of automatic eligibility. It also acknowledges that the proposal may increase states’ administrative burdens, reduce SNAP spending and affect school-meal eligibility.
Al Jazeera says the proposed change would also affect free-school-lunch eligibility for 1.8 million children because they would no longer qualify for SNAP.
Minnesota Democratic Representative Angie Craig said the proposal would make basic needs harder to meet and reverse efforts to simplify federal programs. New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker called it “despicable” and said it would deepen cuts to food assistance while Americans struggle with grocery prices.
The department proposed a different restriction on TANF-linked eligibility on 24 July 2019, limiting qualifying TANF benefits to those that were ongoing and substantial; the Biden administration withdrew it on 10 June 2021. Separately, a July 2025 law expanded SNAP work requirements and made certain categories of immigrants ineligible. Some 5.5 million people had already lost access to SNAP benefits because of changes mandated by that law.
The proposal has a 30-day public-comment period. Written comments must be received by 10 December 2026 to be assured of consideration. People can submit them through regulations.gov, by email to sm.fn.snappdbrules@usda.gov or by mail to SNAP Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Administration, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705. The email subject should include docket ID FNA-2026-0661 and “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Reforming Categorical Eligibility”. The department says comments and submitters’ identities will be public, with comments available on regulations.gov.
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