Attorney General Nick Brown has asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to enforce its preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) demand that states turn over personal and sensitive information about millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.

Earlier this year, Brown and a coalition of attorneys general sued USDA alleging that this demand violates federal law. The court agreed that the demand was likely unlawful because USDA had stated its intent to disclose and use the demanded data for purposes unrelated to the administration of SNAP and granted a preliminary injunction.

Now, the federal agency has again threatened to cut off administrative funding to states that do not turn over this data. In the motion to enforce, the multistate coalition argues that this renewed demand violates the court's existing order and is contrary to law for the same reasons as the original demand.

"The rule of law is on our side," Brown said. "I have confidence the court will enforce its order to safeguard the private information of SNAP recipients in Washington and around the country."

SNAP is a federally funded, state-administered program that provides billions of dollars in food assistance to tens of millions of low-income families across the country. SNAP applicants provide their private information on the understanding, backed by federal law, that their information will not be used for unrelated purposes.

In an attempt to bully states into compliance, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to withhold administrative funding for the program if states fail to comply with its unprecedented demand for data - effectively forcing states to choose between protecting their residents' privacy and providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need. Washington state receives roughly $129.5 million a year to administer the program, and any delay in that funding could be catastrophic for the state and its residents who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.

The only difference between USDA's original demand, issued in July, and its renewed demand, issued in November, is that this renewed demand attached a proposed data and security protocol. This protocol is "proposed" in name only - the Trump administration has made clear that it has no intention of negotiating the terms of that protocol with states, stating in its demand letter there "can be no good faith objections" to the protocol, despite the fact that protocol would permit the data sharing and use that the court has already found to be unlawful.

When the multistate coalition raised this and other concerns with the protocol, USDA rejected those concerns out-of-hand and swiftly issued letters threatening to withhold funding. The coalition now urges the court to enforce its preliminary injunction against USDA's renewed demand that states turn over SNAP data or lose federal funding necessary to administer the SNAP program.

Brown has vigorously defended SNAP from attacks by the Trump administration. During the recent government shutdown, he and other attorneys general sued USDA to force them to fund November SNAP benefits. Not one, but two federal district courts determined that the administration acted unlawfully. And when the administration responded by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to pause one court's order requiring USDA to pay full benefits, Brown vigorously challenged that request, which was ultimately withdrawn after the government reopened. The SNAP program is now fully funded through September 2026.

Last month, Washington and other states again sued to challenge USDA's guidance that erroneously excluded certain lawfully residing non-citizens from SNAP eligibility. In response to that lawsuit, USDA backed down and issued correcting guidance. A district court also issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from penalizing Washington for any errors resulting from USDA's erroneous guidance unlawfully restricting eligibility for SNAP.

A copy of the motion is available here.

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