U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins says the agency plans to “completely deconstruct” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), framing the move as a push to eliminate fraud and abuse.
In a statement to Newsweek, the USDA said Rollins is focused on ending “fraud, waste, and incessant abuse” within SNAP. The department added that the effort will include standard household recertification, deeper analysis of state data, further regulatory action, and closer coordination with states.
SNAP currently helps roughly 42 million low-income Americans afford groceries each month. The program drew heightened attention during the recent government shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—when many recipients saw benefits delayed in November. Rollins’ remarks also come as the federal government rolls out significant changes to SNAP, including new work requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could remove millions from the program, along with possible reapplication rules intended to drop recipients deemed no longer eligible.
Speaking Tuesday on Fox Business with Larry Kudlow, Rollins cited early findings that she said show “186,000 dead people are receiving SNAP benefits,” and alleged that around 500,000 individuals are collecting benefits in more than one state.
USDA data, as reported by Fox Business, indicates that in the first quarter of 2025 more than 226,000 fraudulent benefit claims and 691,000 fraudulent transactions were approved. Fraudulent transactions typically involve benefits used without authorization, including cases tied to card cloning or electronic theft.
According to the same USDA figures, these fraudulent claims and transactions cost the government over $102 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025—up from $69.4 million the previous quarter and $31.9 million over the same period last year. Rollins said the department has already made “hundreds of arrests” related to SNAP fraud.
She also argued that the shutdown created momentum for tighter scrutiny, calling the fraud crackdown “an unintended consequence of the Democrats shutting the government down for 43 days,” and saying it exposed weaknesses in the program and gave the administration a chance to rebuild it from the ground up.
Rollins said the coming reforms are meant to protect people who truly rely on SNAP while removing “fraudsters” and others who misuse the system.
President Donald Trump echoed that message in remarks delivered in Washington, D.C., on November 6. He said SNAP was designed for people facing real hardship, and criticized the idea of able-bodied recipients relying on benefits instead of working.
For now, the USDA has not provided a firm timeline for when the new SNAP policies will take effect.
