USDA Secretary Celebrates SNAP Decline as Experts Attribute Drop to Budget Cuts

On Saturday, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins posted on social media that 4.3 million people had been removed from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), framing the reduction as evidence of a strengthening economy under President Donald Trump.

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The decline follows the Republican-controlled Congress’s 2025 budget law, which reduces federal SNAP funding by $186 billion over ten years and expands work-requirement provisions that can suspend benefits. President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, enacted a year earlier, have been cited as contributing to higher grocery prices.

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Key participants include USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, food-insecurity researcher Caitlin Caspi (University of Connecticut), the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), and Representative Shontel Brown (D-Ohio).

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SNAP enrollment fell by 4.3 million, the sharpest decline in decades, after a $186 billion cut in federal funding over ten years. Unemployment remains higher than in February 2025.

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Rollins cited preliminary USDA data, claiming that strong employment reduced SNAP reliance and that “healthy employment numbers mean less reliance on government programs.” Associated Press fact-check linked the enrollment drop mainly to the 2025 budget cuts. CBPP’s analysis echoed this, noting that “economic conditions haven’t been improving as the number of people receiving SNAP has plummeted.” The agency warned that cuts shift costs to states and expand work-requirement provisions.

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Caitlin Caspi argued that unemployment trends do not match the SNAP decline, emphasizing the lack of a “linear kind of drop-off.” Representative Shontel Brown condemned the celebration, calling the reduction a “failure” amid rising grocery prices linked to the tariffs, and introduced legislation to reverse the cuts.

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Rollins’ claim that the economy drives the enrollment drop conflicts with analyses attributing it to budget cuts. The sources lack state-level enrollment data, leaving regional impacts unclear, and do not quantify the effect of the expanded work-requirement provision.

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• “4.3 million off SNAP and counting!” — Brooke Rollins, USDA Secretary

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• “We’re not seeing a linear kind of drop-off,” — Caitlin Caspi, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut

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• “economic conditions haven’t been improving as the number of people receiving SNAP has plummeted in recent months, representing the sharpest decline in decades.” — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)

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• “You mean the one where Americans paid $300 more on their groceries to compensate for Trump's tariffs? Kicking 4.3 million Americans off of SNAP is not a flex, it's a failure. That's why I've authored legislation to reverse the Trump SNAP cuts.” — Shontel Brown, Representative (D-Ohio)

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Congress is expected to consider Brown’s legislation to restore SNAP funding. The USDA plans to release updated enrollment figures later this quarter, which may clarify the influence of economic trends versus policy changes.

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