There was an important court decision last week in a lawsuit filed by 20 states to halt the Trump administration's arbitrary new requirements for distributing food assistance funds to 39 million families that depend on these benefits. On June 5, a federal judge blocked the administration from enforcing new conditions on billions of dollars in federal nutrition funding, siding with a coalition of Democratic-led states that argued the requirements threatened programs serving low-income families.
"According to court filings, the disputed conditions included provisions related to immigration, "gender ideology" and "fair athletic opportunities" for women and girls. The states argued the requirements were vague, unrelated to nutrition and agriculture programs, and imposed without proper legal procedures."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/06/judge-halts-trump-snap-restrictions-in-states-lawsuit-over-funding-rules/90438543007/
I've written multiple stories about these Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, from the perspective of them being stolen by card skimming devices secretly installed at checkout counters and random places. In the past, the states have struggled to get the federal government to reimburse them for these fraud costs, which are disproportionately caused by organized crime groups, particularly Armenian and Romanian gangs that have a significant presence in the US. Now the states are struggling to get these benefits funded at all. But the skimming threat hasn't gone away, because while some state benefits cards do now have chips on them, many still allow the cards to be swiped.
Previous reporting on this:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/10/how-card-skimming-disproportionally-affects-those-most-in-need/
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/02/new-protections-for-food-benefits-stolen-by-skimmers/
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/11/lawsuit-seeks-food-benefits-stolen-by-skimmers/
