Americans on food stamps could be banned from buying ‘bad food and sugary drinks,’ Trump USDA chief says

WASHINGTON — Americans on food stamps may be banned from using them to buy “sugary drinks” and other junk food, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday.

The newly appointed cabinet official said she will work with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — to prioritize food-stamp benefits for healthy food items.

“Will we ever take food out of a hungry child’s mouth? Of course not, this is the United States of America, Rollins told reporters on the White House driveway.

“Truly, this program has grown so large, especially in the last administration. Under Biden, I think [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] grew almost 30% more than before. We really need to look at where that money is going, what it’s being spent on,” she said.

“I look forward to working with Bobby Kennedy as we figure out, ‘Do we have the healthiest choices?’ So when a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are we OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?”

Rollins and Kennedy were both confirmed by the Senate Thursday and will serve on President Trump’s new 13-member Make America Healthy Again commission.

In fiscal 2023, 42.1 million people received SNAP benefits, according to USDA.

The program’s cost was $112.8 billion annually, with benefits averaging $211.93 per month.

It’s unclear how the plan might work, though the idea already is under consideration in Congress.

A bill from Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) would restrict the use of SNAP benefits on “soft drinks, candy, ice cream, prepared desserts such as cakes, pies, cookies, or similar products.”

A different and bipartisan bill sponsored by Brecheen and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) would authorize a study of SNAP purchases to “add improving nutrition security and diet quality to Congress’ declaration of policy for SNAP.”

Rollins also said she would welcome “a business perspective” in particular from Musk’s DOGE team in making the best use of food stamp funding.

“Oftentimes these government programs are started with the idea that you’re going to help people — it’s not a handout, it’s a hand up — and then years later the programs are even bigger and more people on them. And are we really giving people a hand up or is it really a handout?” she said.

“If we can have a whole other group of really smart people looking at SNAP and other programs at USDA that will allow us to ensure, ‘What are our metrics for success?’”