TAMPA (NBC) – A U.S. federal judge has struck down a Trump administration rule that would have cut food stamp benefits to almost 700,000 unemployed Americans amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, court documents showed.
A USDA rule change under the Trump administration was set to take effect back in April, at a time when thousands of americans were losing their jobs.
The change was announced in December, a lawsuit was filed in January, an injunction was granted in March, and the USDA filed a notice of appeal in May.
In his ruling, Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. said the new rule would have left states “scrambling and exponentially increasing food insecurity for tens of thousands of Americans.”
