Judge Issues Preliminary Block on Trump USDA Funding Conditions Tied to Immigration, Gender, and Women's Sports Policies

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun granted a preliminary injunction on June 5 blocking the Trump administration from enforcing new conditions on USDA nutrition-program funding. The order came in a lawsuit filed in March by 20 states and the District of Columbia.

Judge Myong Joun, who sits on the federal bench in Boston, said he would issue a written memorandum explaining the decision at a later date. The challenged conditions required states to certify compliance with federal policies on immigration, gender ideology and fair athletic opportunities for women and girls before receiving grants that include SNAP, school-meal programs and WIC.

SNAP helps roughly 39 million Americans buy groceries.

The states argued the requirements were vague, unrelated to nutrition and agriculture programs, and imposed without proper legal procedures. In the complaint, the states said USDA had placed unconstitutional and unlawful roadblocks between federally authorized programs and the states that administer them, threatening nutrition assistance, agricultural research and food supply systems.

The plaintiffs include Massachusetts, California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, several other Democratic-led states, and Washington, DC.

The states collectively receive more than $74 billion annually through USDA programs, according to court filings. Government attorneys opposed the injunction. They argued the conditions were intended to strengthen federal oversight of taxpayer-funded programs and would promote responsible stewardship of federal funds, improve USDA oversight and ensure recipients comply with federal laws, regulations and policies.

The Trump administration argued that if states must comply with federal anti-discrimination laws to receive federal funding, other federal policies should be treated similarly. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell praised the ruling on social media, calling USDA grants a lifeline for families.

New York Attorney General Letitia James welcomed the decision and said her office would continue fighting to protect federal funding while the lawsuit proceeds.