Judge blocks Trump administration's SNAP limits on sodas, candy

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's effort to let states bar SNAP recipients from using their food benefits to buy soft drinks and candy, ruling the Agriculture Department lacked the authority to approve the restrictions. Earlier this year, multiple states received approval from the Agriculture Department to enact the ban, with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins backing the efforts as a way to strip foods regarded as unhealthy from the $100 billion federal program. However, SNAP recipients in five states — Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia — sued the agency in March, alleging the move would "destabilize food access" for people on food stamps. They also argued that the ban makes it difficult for people with chronic illnesses to access food or drinks needed to maintain their health, including items used to manage blood sugar. In her Monday ruling, Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with the plaintiffs, writing that the Agriculture Department exceeded its authority when it allowed states to issue the ban. "Congress defined what 'food' is supposed to be, and it did not authorize the agency to amend or waive the definition it enacted," she wrote in her opinion. "It did not authorize the agency to cut types of food out of SNAP entirely." SNAP provides monthly benefits to help low-income Americans pay for groceries. While it's a federally funded program, food stamps are administered by each U.S. state. …