A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from allowing five states to ban food stamp purchases of sugary drinks and candy.
The decision is a major blow to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement, known as MAHA, which aims to minimize consumption of ultra-processed foods to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
Kennedy worked closely with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who approved requests from nearly two dozen states to limit food purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the official name for food stamps. Not all bans have come into force yet.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the District of Columbia ruled that the USDA does not have the authority to approve state waivers in pilot projects in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.
In their waivers, states sought to change the federal definition of food to one that limited certain foods. The bans varied somewhat in each state, with all limiting the purchase of sugary drinks such as soda and energy drinks, and some also limiting candy. Limits apply to all SNAP recipients, no exceptions.
The five food stamp recipients who filed the lawsuit argued that they need to buy limited foods for the sake of their health and wellness, describing some drinks as necessary to treat Type 1 diabetes, kidney problems and lack of energy.
Jackson noted that her decision is not a comment on whether the ban is a good idea.
“Federal defendants and states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by promoting healthy choices at the store, and they may take legal steps to achieve these goals,” Jackson wrote. “But what they can’t do is break the law and their own rules.”
The judge noted that the authority relied upon by the USDA allows the agency to implement pilot projects to test the effectiveness of the SNAP program, but does not include improving the health and nutrition of recipients.
Rollins promised the administration will continue to fight MAHA.
“An activist judge just blocked our common-sense restriction on the use of SNAP benefits for soda and trash,” she wrote on X on Tuesday. “SNAP is for food, not sugar bombs that contribute to obesity, diabetes and skyrocketing health care costs for low-income families. Taxpayers should not be subsidizing unhealthy food and drinks at the expense of Americans’ health.”
CNN has reached out to HHS for comment.
One of the law firms that brought the case said the decision “is an important step in restoring needed food assistance to millions of families who rely on SNAP across the country.”
“This decision makes clear that USDA cannot circumvent the legal restrictions that dictate how SNAP must operate across the country,” said Katherine Diebler-Meadows, senior staff attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. “This reinforces that families deserve a program that works without confusion.”
This article has been updated with additional information.