Federal Government Sues Minnesota Over Refusal to Share SNAP Applicant Data

(KNSI) — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota and three other states to try to force them to hand over five years of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program applicant data to the federal government.

All four states have refused repeated requests from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide data on food assistance applicants. It’s data the USDA says it needs to verify states are correctly determining who qualifies for benefits and at what level.

The USDA first requested the data last year. Twenty-eight other states complied. Minnesota, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania did not. The USDA made a second request in May, and the states again refused.

Federal officials say data from the 28 compliant states point to at least $3 billion a year in potential SNAP fraud, waste, and abuse. Among the discrepancies flagged: nearly 186,000 recipients who appear deceased according to Social Security records, more than 441,000 with dummy Social Security numbers, and more than 108,000 cases of people collecting benefits in multiple states at the same time.

According to USDA’s own payment error rate data for fiscal year 2025, Minnesota’s SNAP error rate is 12.58%, above the national average of 10.62%, and the highest among the four states being sued. The data showed the state’s overpayment rate is at 9.86%, with the underpayment rate at 2.72%. Kentucky’s rate is 4.7%, Michigan’s is 9.89%, and Pennsylvania’s is 9.21%.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the states are blocking USDA’s efforts to ensure food assistance dollars are not lost to fraud, calling it “unacceptable and suspicious.” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the department had worked constructively with most states, but those continuing to withhold data would face legal action.

The DOJ is asking a federal court to issue an injunction requiring Minnesota and the other states to turn over the records.

Minnesota officials have not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit.

___