A federal judge in Denver on Wednesday temporarily halted a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot project that would have forced more than 100,000 Colorado households to recertify their SNAP benefits within 30 days. The ruling puts a sudden federal directive on ice, sparing state and county workers from scrambling through rush renewals under the threat of funding cuts, at least for now.
U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson issued a bench ruling finding that Colorado faced imminent and irreparable harm from the threat of sanctions that could strip families of benefits, according to the Denver Gazette. Pressing Justice Department attorneys for any proof of fraud in the five targeted counties, Jackson told the courtroom that “the threat of sanctions, which, quite frankly, is a very real threat, is itself causing the irreparable harm,” the paper reported. His oral ruling prevents the USDA from moving ahead with the pilot while the lawsuit continues.
A broader pattern of legal pushback
Colorado’s case is part of a growing wave of challenges to the administration’s attempts to scrutinize state-run SNAP systems and collect more data on recipients. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office says a federal judge there granted a preliminary injunction after similar demands and labeled the USDA’s 30-day recertification orders impossible, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said. Courts in other states have also moved to limit USDA data-collection pushes, according to The Associated Press.
What the USDA’s pilot would have required
According to the Denver Gazette, a Dec. 17 letter from Deputy Under Secretary Patrick A. Penn “hereby required Colorado to participate” in the pilot. It ordered Arapahoe, Adams, Jefferson, Boulder, and Douglas counties to review and recertify every SNAP household in those counties within 30 days. State officials told the court the directive arrived with no warning and would blow up Colorado’s usual staggered six-month recertification schedule. Penn’s letter warned that failure to comply “may affect Colorado’s continued participation in SNAP.” Jackson said from the bench that he will issue a written order spelling out his reasoning in more detail.
What this means for families and next steps
SNAP serves tens of millions of Americans, and sudden shifts in eligibility checks can trigger administrative gridlock and benefit interruptions, a risk courts have repeatedly highlighted, The Associated Press notes. With the preliminary block now in place, the case will proceed in federal court and could ultimately be appealed. The outcome will shape whether the USDA can roll out similar unilateral pilot demands in other states.
