politics
Federal Judges Block SNAP Food Restrictions and SAVE Voter Database Access
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson halted state waivers that limited SNAP purchases of soda and candy in five states. U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan separately barred states from querying a federal database combining immigration and Social Security records for voter verification.
nbcnews.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Monday blocked waivers that allowed Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia to bar SNAP recipients from buying soda and candy with program benefits. Judge Jackson ruled that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins exceeded statutory authority when she approved the pilot projects.
The decision stated that the waivers attempted to redefine the statutory term “food” rather than address an administrative detail.
SAVE System Ruling U.S. District Judge Sparkle L.
Sooknanan on Monday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to stop states from searching a centralized database that pools immigration records and Social Security data for voter-roll checks. The ruling found that the database, created under a 2025 executive order, violated at least three federal statutes.
Judge Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, wrote that agencies had “haphazardly” implemented the system. Eighteen states had already received or applied for SNAP food-restriction waivers before the Jackson decision.
