Trump administration to cut Democratic-led states' SNAP funds over 'rampant fraud'

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will withhold Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food aid from recipients in Democratic-led states until the states provide data on who is receiving the assistance.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a White House cabinet meeting that there is "so much rampant fraud" in a program that around 42 million U.S. people participate in.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture asked all 50 states "for the first time to turn over their data to the federal government," said Rollins, noting that this aims "to root out this fraud and to protect the American taxpayer."

The secretary noted that 29 "red states" said yes, and 21 "blue states continue to say no," including California, New York and Minnesota.

Starting next week, the Trump administration "will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply," she said.