Gov. Janet Mills and other Maine Democrats are pushing back on the Trump administration’s threat to withhold administrative funding for a food stamp program.
The Trump administration says it will withhold the funding for SNAP in Democrat-led states that don’t hand over data about the program’s recipients, which it says will be used to combat fraud.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that 28 states and Guam have complied with the request, while 21 have not.
Gov. Janet Mills said the state won’t comply with the demand, calling it a “cruel and callous attempt.”
Maine Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree called the administration “lawless and capricious” and says the state can’t fund the program on its own long-term.
States and the federal government split the administrative costs for SNAP.
Maine Republican House Minority Leader Katrina Smith told our info partners at CBS 13 Gov. Mills is playing politics and that there’s no reason the state shouldn’t hand over the data.
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins also urged the state to be transparent with the data requested, in an effort “to prevent waste, fraud, or misuse of these taxpayer-funded benefits that help so many American families.”
Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden said the request has been blocked by one court, and that the state is already providing information to ensure program integrity.
States have until next week to comply with the order or lose funding.
