- In June the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated five state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) waivers granted by USDA. The waivers permitted states to exclude certain foods deemed to be unhealthy from the scope of their SNAP programs, which the district court held exceeded USDA’s legal authority.
- On August 21, 2026, USDA filed an appeal of the decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The parties have not yet briefed the issues.
- The June district court decision only vacated the waivers granted to Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia, but the decision cast doubt on the legality of similar waivers granted to other states.
- The target implementation dates for the South Carolina and North Dakota SNAP waivers were August 31, 2026, and September 1, 2026, respectively. However, it has been reported that USDA has asked these states to delay implementation of the waivers until November 1, 2026, during which time USDA plans to publish federal register notices regarding the waivers and consider public comment.
- Many SNAP waivers are already in effect. Indeed, the Arkansas SNAP waiver went into effect on July 1, 2026, only 9 days after the court ruling. State officials maintained that the court ruling does not apply to the Arkansas waiver.
