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By Aliss Higham
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A federal judge has blocked a federal government order to force Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries in Colorado from having to recertify their benefits.
Senior U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson formally blocked a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) effort to force Colorado into a SNAP recertification “pilot project,” ruling the move violated federal law, the Constitution, and basic standards of reasoned decision-making.
Newsweek has contacted the USDA for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
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Why It Matters
Jackson said Colorado would face imminent and irreparable harm, including the risk that households could lose SNAP benefits and that the USDA could withhold millions of dollars in funding if the state did not comply.
Under the Trump administration, the USDA has been focused on reducing supposed fraud in the SNAP benefit program, which serves more than 40 million Americans nationwide.
What To Know
In a March 16 written order, Jackson criticized the USDA’s December 17 “Recertification Letter” to state Governor Jared Polis as "astonishing as it is brief,” concluding it would override statutory and regulatory safeguards that ensure orderly, fair SNAP recertifications.
The USDA directive, signed by Deputy Under Secretary Patrick A. Penn, would have required five Colorado counties (Arapahoe, Adams, Jefferson, Boulder and Douglas) to review and recertify all SNAP households within 30 days. If not blocked, the USDA request would have impacted approximately 106,500 SNAP households, or 36 percent of all SNAP recipients in the state.
Colorado normally staggers recertifications every six months, which is more frequent than the federal minimum of every 12 months
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Penn’s letter warned that failure to participate would trigger noncompliance procedures and could affect Colorado’s continued participation in SNAP.
At a January 28 hearing, Jackson found Colorado faced imminent and irreparable harm if the project proceeded, and his subsequent order said the Agriculture Secretary lacked authority to force states into such pilots, which would violate existing SNAP rules.
Jackson added that the pilot appeared likely unconstitutional if it imposed new conditions on federal funds after acceptance and questioned whether an abrupt mass recertification would effectively detect fraud without causing widespread disruption.
The USDA pursued a similar recertification pilot in Minnesota in December 2025. A judge there temporarily barred enforcement of the USDA's demand.
What People Are Saying
Judge R. Brooke Jackson, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, in his written order on March 16, 2026: “Congress established a statutory and regulatory framework to provide households with an orderly, predictable, and fundamentally fair process for periodically demonstrating their continued eligibility for SNAP, including by prescribing a definite certification period, ensuring adequate notice, and permitting telephonic interviews. The Recertification Letter runs roughshod over these safeguards.”
David Moskowitz, Colorado deputy solicitor general, at a January 28 hearing on the case: “USDA gave Colorado no advance notice, no time to plan. Just an unexpected letter that showed up in the governor’s mailbox with an untenable deadline. The request wasn’t remotely feasible. … It wasn’t meant to be. This is not a real pilot project. It doesn’t look anything like a real pilot project.”
What Happens Next
The injunction will remain in place while litigation proceeds, and the court will address whether the USDA can lawfully impose broad recertification pilots without rulemaking, statutory authority, and adequate notice.
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