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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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The new Trump-appointed chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Kailee Buller, announced this week that the department will "correct" Joe Biden's "financial mismanagement" of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Commenting on the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) review of former USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack's handling of the program, Buller claimed that previous department's officials "put politics over commonsense" and "compromised the integrity" of SNAP. "The Trump administration will immediately correct this egregious action, making certain material weaknesses like this do not happen again," she added.
Her announcement comes as House Republicans just released their budget resolution containing deep cuts to SNAP. Newsweek contacted the USDA press team for comment by email on Thursday morning.
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Why It Matters
The SNAP program is America's largest nutrition assistance program, accounting for about 68 percent or two-thirds of USDA nutrition assistance spending in fiscal year 2023, as per the latest data made available by the department.
It provides monthly food benefits to low- and no-income families, boosting their grocery budget so that they can afford healthy and nutritious food. In the fiscal year 2023, an average of 42.1 million Americans received SNAP benefits every month, according to the USDA. While the share of the U.S. residents who receive the benefits changes from state to state, the highest percentages in 2023 were in Oregon, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
In 2022, nearly 40 percent of beneficiaries were children under the age of 5 (11.6 percent) and between the ages of 5 and 17 (28 percent). Cuts to the program, which are likely to be implemented under the Trump administration, could affect millions of people.
What To Know
In a press release published on Wednesday, Buller accused Vilsack and former Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean of having threatened the "integrity" of the SNAP program.
"Make no mistake, Secretary Vilsack and Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean put politics over commonsense, ignoring scores of USDA financial analysts and policy experts," she said. "Using a memorandum from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as their guide, Vilsack and Dean compromised the integrity of SNAP, the financial standing of USDA, and further eroded public trust."
Buller, who most recently served as the president and CEO of seed-oil trade group the National Oilseed Processors Association, did not offer any details about the findings of the GOA's review. She also did not specify how the Trump administration plans to "correct" what she claimed was the Biden administration's "mismanagement" of the program.
The USDA has recently been involved in Elon Musk' and his Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) efforts to cut down on the number of federal workers. On Monday, the USDA terminated 18 contracts totaling $9 million, according to a post on X by Musk. The department, which has seen its funding for climate change programs slashed, was also reportedly asked to take any reference to climate change from its website.
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The USDA is likely to receive another blow soon. The new budget plan released by House Republicans on Wednesday and set to be marked up by the House Budget Committee on Thursday contains clear instructions to cut as much as $230 billion across USDA programs.
During his administration, Biden increased food stamp benefits for all recipients by re-evaluating the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) used to calculate payments to reflect updated data on food prices, food composition, and consumption patterns, and current dietary guidance.
This move was particularly displeasing for Republican lawmakers. In 2024, Glenn Thompson, Republican chair of the House Agriculture Committee, unveiled his proposed Farm Bill trying to restrict the USDA's authority to revise the Thrifty Food Plan.
During his first mandate, Trump repeatedly tried to reduce SNAP benefits by either cutting or adding restrictions to the program. While these efforts were largely unsuccessful, the president might find more support for these policies this time around.
What People Are Saying
Experts at the Center for American Progress (CAP) wrote: "Now that Trump is back in office and Republicans control both chambers of Congress, households receiving SNAP—which provides low-income families with benefits to buy groceries—will likely face many attacks as House Republicans debate how to reduce government spending in a budget resolution needed to kick-start the reconciliation process. Under this process, bipartisan support would not be needed to pass the final package of legislation."
California Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat, wrote on X: "22 million households per month rely on SNAP. These are the programs Republicans are explicitly proposing to cut. This is not about 'cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.' It's about slashing benefits for working-class Americans to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-rich."
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, previously told Newsweek: "For SNAP, the resolution calls for $230 billion in cuts over 10 years. This would be achieved through stricter work requirements and changes to how benefit levels adjust for inflation. These modifications would effectively reduce both eligibility and benefit amounts for families already struggling with food costs."
What Happens Next
Cuts to SNAP benefits are unlikely to be popular among many Americans who rely on them to supplement their grocery shops. Republican lawmakers in competitive districts could suffer from the impact of these policies on their bids for re-election or election in the 2026 midterms.
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