TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging new conditions tied to billions of dollars in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding.
The lawsuit, filed against the Trump administration, seeks to block the USDA from imposing conditions on grant funding that states argue are unrelated to the programs receiving the funds.
According to the complaint, the USDA has required states to comply with federal policies related to immigration, diversity, equity and inclusion, and gender identity in order to receive funding. The lawsuit contends those requirements are vague and not connected to the purpose of the funding.
“The Trump Administration cannot make cruel funding restrictions without any basis in law or fact,” said Attorney General Davenport. “I will not let people go hungry because of the Administration’s latest effort to impose unrelated ideological conditions on essential services.”
The lawsuit asks the court to prevent the USDA from enforcing the conditions on programs such as the National School Lunch Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Volunteer Fire Capacity Program.
State officials said those programs provide services including food assistance, support for families and funding for firefighting efforts.
In New Jersey, USDA funding includes approximately $1.93 billion in SNAP benefits administered by the Department of Human Services, about $658 million for child nutrition programs and $12 million for emergency food assistance through the Department of Agriculture, and roughly $210 million for WIC programs through the Department of Health.
The lawsuit alleges the funding conditions violate federal law, including the Constitution’s spending clause and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Attorneys general from 20 other states and Washington, D.C., joined New Jersey in the filing.
