Obama-appointed judge rules SNAP must cover junk food in blow to MAHA

Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson struck down state programs that would have limited what SNAP beneficiaries can buy with those federal funds. In working with the Trump administration, several states initiatied pilot programs to to prevent food stamp recipients from using that money to buy soda, candy, and junk food. The plans were part of an initiative from the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-lef Health and Human Services agency.

Berman ruled Monday that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins exceeded her authority when she approved the programs in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. These are states that struggle with obesity. Nearly 14% of the population of West Virginia is on food stamps while populations in Colorado, Iowa, and Tennessee have 12% participation and Iowa less than 8%. Louisiana, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, DC, have the highest rates of food stamp usage.

The ruling marks one of the biggest setbacks yet for Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy, who has pushed for sweeping health reforms aimed at tackling chronic disease, childhood obesity, diabetes, and poor nutrition across the United States. His popular Make America Healthy Again program was a chief component of President Trump's campaign promise when he won Kennedy's endorsement.

Kennedy has repeatedly argued that taxpayers should not be subsidizing products linked to obesity and other health problems, particularly at a time when chronic illness is surging among American children. "We shouldn’t be subsidizing people to eat poison," he told Fox.

Since joining the Trump administration, Kennedy fought against the use of food additives, ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, and conflicts of interest within federal health agencies. His department has also launched reviews of artificial food dyes, expanded investigations into chronic childhood illness, and pushed for greater transparency surrounding pharmaceutical and nutrition policy in an attempt to get Americans eating healthy and off prescription drugs.

More than 20 states submitted waiver requests after Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins encouraged governors to pursue restrictions on foods that lead to obestity, diabetes, and poor health outcomes. It was a widely popular plan. "Why are taxpayers required to pay for junk food for people who don’t work? Then taxpayers are required to pay for their healthcare when they get sick from eating junk food," one user shared on X.

In her ruling, Jackson argued that Congress, not federal agencies or state governments, would need to change the statutory definition of food under SNAP before such restrictions could be implemented.