The Trump administration’s new rules for the nation’s largest food assistance program took effect Monday, aiming to overhaul what officials describe as an increasingly expensive system.
Under President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the age limit for work requirements tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been raised from 54 to 64. People in that age range must now work, participate in training, or volunteer at least 80 hours per month in qualifying activities to keep receiving benefits.
SNAP, which helps more than 40 million Americans buy groceries, came back under the spotlight during the recent government shutdown, when its funding briefly appeared at risk. In FY2024, the program served an average of 41.7 million people per month — about 12% of the U.S. population — at a cost of roughly $99 billion to taxpayers.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the new rules are expected to reduce the average monthly number of SNAP recipients by about 2.4 million over the next decade.
Administration officials argue that program costs have surged because of both increased dependence on the benefits and instances of fraud. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox Business last month that early reviews of limited data revealed serious misuse, including about 186,000 deceased individuals still listed as receiving benefits and roughly 500,000 people collecting SNAP assistance in more than one state.
To address this, Rollins said the administration will require all SNAP participants to reapply for benefits in an effort to tighten oversight and reduce fraud.
The administration is also pursuing changes to other federal benefits. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X on Friday that his department is preparing to block illegal immigrants from receiving certain federal tax-related benefits.
Bessent said Treasury will issue proposed regulations clarifying that the refundable portions of several individual income tax benefits will no longer be available to illegal and other non-qualified aliens. The affected benefits would include the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Saver’s Match Credit.
“At @POTUS @realDonaldTrump’s direction, we are working to cut off federal benefits to illegal aliens and preserve them for U.S. citizens,” Bessent wrote.
